What is the highest bill between that of nuclear energy and that of renewable energies? This question was invited on the set of France Inter, Monday, November 15 in the morning, during an exchange between Léa Salamé and Yannick Jadot.
After the journalist quoted one of the conclusions of the report of the electricity manager RTE made in October, according to which the construction of new nuclear reactors was cheaper than investing in solar and wind power, the candidate of Europe Ecology -The Greens (EELV) in the presidential election camped on its position: “I invite you to read the government document which had leaked in the press and which said that these statistics on nuclear were truncated and that nuclear, in reality, costs much more. “And to add in reference to the many disappointments of the construction of the Flamanville EPR:” When you have a reactor that starts at 3 billion [d’euros] and which ends at 20 billion … “
.@YJadot : “The costs of nuclear only increase when those of renewable energies only decrease. We have to look at reality!” # le79inter pic.twitter.com/BBNxyoEc9l
– France Inter (@franceinter) November 15, 2021
And Yannick Jadot to add: “The costs of nuclear only increase when the costs of renewable energies only decrease. At some point, you have to look at reality! The reality is the explosion in nuclear costs and the systematic fall in the costs of renewables. “
FAKE OFF
As Yannick Jadot asserts, a government working document dated October 2021 and revealed by the specialized media Context reports a significant increase in the bill envisaged for the construction of six new nuclear reactors.
“Between early 2020 (date of submission of the conclusions of the first audit ordered) and March 2021, [le coût estimé de la construction des six réacteurs en projet] rose from 46 billion euros to a range between 52 and 57 billion in a scenario of “good industrial control”. Or an increase of 13%, charged by the electrician [EDF] civil engineering and the construction of the nuclear island and “the extent of site preparation work”. The cost even reaches 64 billion in a “more degraded” scenario, ”notes Context. An evolution which therefore suggests an increase in the cost of electricity produced by nuclear power.
However, is the price of renewable energies really following a considerable drop compared to that of nuclear? In its 2020 report – the most recent – on the cost of electricity production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) drew up the following observation: often cheaper than the costs associated with fossil fuels. »What about the atom? “The cost of electricity from new nuclear power plants remains stable, but electricity from long-running power plants is emerging as the cheapest option for carbon-free power generation. “
An expected increase in the cost of renewable energies due to soaring commodity prices
In details, the IEA notes that solar photovoltaic energy “is becoming the cheapest option in most countries for power generation, which should propel investment in the years to come”. And, above all, that “the long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants remains a very competitive investment in carbon-free electricity” (p. 147 of the report), while explaining (p.149) the major problem with these installations.
“Once a nuclear power plant has been built, the costs are low and stable. However, when the programmed deadline of its existence approaches, the investment costs suddenly increase, the operators carrying out major renovations to safely extend the lifespan of the plant ”, details the IEA.
This does not prevent observing the flagrant fall in the cost of renewable energies over the last decade, as still recalled Le Figaro end of October 2021: “In ten years, solar has seen its costs fall by more than 80%, onshore wind by 37% (and offshore by 29%). Just last year, thanks to the massification of the production of wind turbines and solar panels, the average price of new photovoltaic parks worldwide fell by 7%, and that of wind farms by 13%. “
A dynamic that could however be thwarted in the coming months, as Capgemini recently mentioned in a report Quoted by Le Figaro : “The surge in the prices of the metals necessary for the energy transition could wipe out part of the fall in costs recorded in solar and wind power over the past ten years. “
In conclusion, renewable energies are more economically advantageous in the context of new investments. But the cost of electricity produced by nuclear power plants already in operation remains lower.