As of 25 July 2018, EDF has inspected 148 of the 150 welds in the main secondary system[1] of the Flamanville EPR and continued to exchange with the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), as announced in previous press releases dated 10 April and 31 May 2018[2]. The two remaining welds will be inspected before the end of July 2018.
Out of the 148 inspected welds, 33 have quality deficiencies and will be repaired.
In addition, EDF has decided to rework a further 20 welds, even though they do not have any defects. These welds do not comply with the "high quality" requirements[3] defined by EDF during the EPR design phase (break preclusion principle).
For 10 other welds, EDF has submitted a proposal to the ASN detailing a specific justification method to confirm the high level of safety at the plant throughout its operating life. The ASN will conduct an in-depth examination of this method.
The other 85 welds are compliant.
The EDF group has therefore adjusted the Flamanville EPR schedule and construction costs accordingly. The loading of nuclear fuel is now scheduled for the 4th quarter in 2019 and the target construction costs have been revised from €10.5 billion to €10.9 billion[4].
EDF teams and their industrial partners are fully mobilized and are continuing all other assembly and testing activities at the Flamanville EPR, including the system performance tests. The "hot tests" are scheduled to commence before the end of 2018.
The impact on operations of the two Fessenheim reactors is currently being reviewed, particularly in relation to the French Energy Transition Law for green growth, which caps nuclear electricity generation capacity.
[1] A closed system in which the steam produced in the steam generator is sent towards the turbine. Once condensed, the water is brought back to the steam generator.
[2] See EDF press release dated 10 April 2018 and 31 May 2018.
[3] See declaration (30 November 2017) of significant safety event related to correct application of "high quality" requirements.
[4] In Euros of 2015, excluding interim interests.
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