Forced nuclear energy reactors shutdown in France: the Energy Transition Act’s mechanisms

Abstract

In August 2015, the Energy Transition towards Green Growth Act set new targets aiming at a diversification of the electricity production mix in France. One of these goals requires France to diminish the share of nuclear energy in its electricity generation mix from an average of 75–50 per cent by 2025. To do so, the 2015 act created new legal tools to force the shutdown of various nuclear energy reactors. However, as this article highlights, these tools remain inadequate and inefficient to allow the Government to order the shutdown of a reactor for energy policy purposes. The first demonstration of this unsatisfactory situation was provided by the shutdown negotiation of the nuclear plant of Fessenheim, the oldest in operation. The lack of adapted legal mechanisms led to a costly agreement at the expense of public money. As it is, this situation seriously imperils the achievement of the electricity production diversification goals and the realization of the energy transition in France.