France’s nuclear plans under pressure

Flaws found at a flagship reactor could curb EDF’s technology export ambitions

Piping weld issues reported at Électricité de France's Flamanville nuclear reactor project last week threaten to delay similar reactor builds across Finland and the UK, eroding confidence in the technology's future role in western Europe's energy mix.  State-owned EDF admitted on 10 April that inspectors had found "quality deviations" on 150 welds in a system used to transport steam to turbines at the Flamanville European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), a third generation pressurised water reactor in northwestern France.  Those inspections were prompted by an initial finding in February that 38 of 66 weldings on a secondary cooling circuit were not in line with standards, which were passed on at