France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, the first time it has been added to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years, state operator EDF said.
The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of grid connection, is coming online 12 years later than originally planned and at a cost of about $13 billion – four times the original budget.
“EDF teams achieved the first connection of the Flamanville EPR to the national grid at 11:48 a.m. The reactor is now generating electricity,” EDF said in a statement.
The Flamanville 3 European Pressurized Reactor is France’s largest at 1.6 GW and one of the world’s largest reactors, along with China’s 1.75 GW Taishan reactor, which is based on a similar design, and Finland’s Olkiluoto.
It is the first to be connected to the grid since COVAX 2 in 1999, but it is being brought into service at a time of sluggish consumption, with France exporting record amounts of electricity this year.
EDF plans to build six new reactors to meet a 2022 pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron as part of the country’s energy transition plans, although questions remain over funding and timelines for the new projects.