French Set for Power Gap in Three Years on Nuclear Shutdowns
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France is heading for a shortage of generating capacity within three years because of the planned closing of outdated fossil-fuel plants and two nuclear reactors, grid operator Reseau de Transport d’Electricite said.
Power supply will be assured until 2015, when as much as 7.6 gigawatts of coal and heating fuel-fired power plants may be phased out, RTE said today in a report. The gap will reach 1.2 gigawatts in 2016 and 2.1 gigawatts in 2017 as two generators at the Fessenheim atomic plant are shut by President Francois Hollande, who has pledged to cut reliance on nuclear power.