France Has 28 Nuclear Reactors In Operation - Energy Minister

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2022) France currently has 28 active nuclear reactors and plans to produce 45 gigawatts of electricity by January, Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Friday.

"Currently we have 28 nuclear reactors in operation," Pannier-Runacher told French broadcaster Sud Radio. "Their number is being increased every week as winter approaches. Our main goal is to achieve the production of 45 gigawatts of electricity by January."

Earlier in September, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that the government expected the state-owned energy company EDF to meet the deadlines for the repair of nuclear reactors so that the country could avoid the need to restart a coal-fired thermal power plant.

On August 25, EDF postponed the launch of four out of 12 nuclear reactors that had been shut down for maintenance over corrosion in May. The energy company stated that, at the time, 32 out of 56 nuclear reactors in France remained shut down.

Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been growing as part of a global trend of post-COVID recovery. After the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, fuel prices have accelerated the growth, pushing many European governments to resort to contingency measures.