France Connects Nuclear Reactor to Its Grid

On Saturday morning, France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid, announced the EDF state operator, marking the first addition to the country's atomic energy network in the last 25 years, according to Reuters.

The reactor, which began operations in September, was commissioned 12 years later than initially planned, with costs nearing €13 billion, four times over the original budget.

“EDF teams achieved the first connection to the national grid at 11:48 AM local time... The reactor has started producing electricity,” stated EDF in a press release.

The European Flamanville 3 reactor, with a power output of 1.6 gigawatts, is one of the largest in the world, alongside China's Taishan reactor at 1.75 gigawatts and Finland's Olkiluoto reactor, built using a similar design.

This is the first reactor connected to the grid since Civaux 2 in 1999, but it begins operation during a period of low consumption, as France has exported a record amount of electricity this year.

EDF plans to build six more new reactors to fulfill a promise made by President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 as part of the country’s plans to transition to new energy sources.

This is ecology in the French style. Together, we will achieve this, said Emmanuel Macron.