France on Saturday connected its most powerful nuclear power reactor to the national electricity grid in what leaders hailed as a landmark moment despite years of delays and technical setbacks.
The Flamanville 3 European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) in Normandy started providing electricity to French homes at 11.48am on Saturday, the EDF power company’s CEO Luc Remont said in a statement.
“Great moment for the country,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on X, calling it “one of the world’s most powerful nuclear reactors”.
“Re-industrialising to produce low-carbon energy is ecology French style,” he added.
The EPR, a new generation pressurised water reactor, is the fourth to be finished anywhere in the world.
Remont of EDF called the event “historic”.
“The last time a reactor started up in France was 25 years ago at Civaux 2,” he said, referring to the Civaux power plant in southwestern France.