Nuclear Energy In France
Nuclear power is the primary source of electric power in France. In 2004, 425.8 TWh out of the country's total production of 540.6 TWh of electricity was from nuclear power (78.8%), the highest percentage in the world.
France's nuclear power industry has been called "a success story" that has put the nation "ahead of the world" in terms of providing cheap, CO2-free energy. In terms of industrialized nations, mainland France has the lowest carbon dioxide production per unit of GDP in the world.
As of 2012, France's electricity price to household customers is the 7th cheapest amongst the 27 member European Union, and also the 7th cheapest to industrial consumers, with a rate of €0.14/kWh to households and €0.07/kWh to industrial consumers. France was the biggest energy exporter in the EU in 2012, exporting 45TWh of electricity to its neighbours. During very cold or hot periods demand routinely exceeds supply due to the lack of more flexible generating plants, and France needs to import electricity.
Électricité de France (EDF) — the country's main electricity generation and distribution company — manages the country's 59 nuclear power plants. EDF is substantially owned by the French Government, with around 85% shares in government hands.
Following François Hollande's victory in the 2012 Presidential Election, there may be a partial nuclear phaseout in France, with his Socialist party in favour of closing the oldest 24 reactors by 2025.
Read more about Nuclear Energy In France: History, Management and Economics, Technical Overview, Considerations, Accidents and Incidents, Seismicity, Nuclear Safety, Public Opinion, Environmental Impact, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words nuclear, energy and/or france:
“American universities are organized on the principle of the nuclear rather than the extended family. Graduate students are grimly trained to be technicians rather than connoisseurs. The old German style of universal scholarship has gone.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“A government deriving its energy from the will of the society, and operating, by the reason of its measures, on the understanding and interest of the society ... is the government for which philosophy has been searching and humanity been fighting from the most remote ages ... which it is the glory of America to have invented, and her unrivalled happiness to possess.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets or steal bread.”
—Anatole France (1844–1924)