Green light for preparatory work on the two future EPR2 nuclear reactors at Penly

With this "environmental authorization", EDF will therefore be able to begin the preparatory work consisting of "developing the location of the EPR2 production units", according to the decree signed on June 3 by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, the Minister of Transition. ecological Christophe Béchu and the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau.

The "activities, installations, works, works" concerned by this environmental authorization include in particular operations such as "clearing and deforestation, and relocation of the fauna and flora to be protected", "the creation of site installations", operations "earthworks" and reprofiling of the cliff, "improvement of access to the site" or even the "creation of a parking lot".

The preparatory works are mainly located in the territory of the commune of Petit-Caux, facing the English Channel, specifies the decree.

"The installation site includes an artificial part, reclaimed from the sea, and old construction site installations, limiting the expression of biodiversity and ecological functionalities, which minimizes the impacts of work in an already industrialized area and "nuclearized", the government argues in particular in the decree to justify the issuance of this authorization.

In a message on the professional network LinkedIn, the interministerial delegation for new nuclear power (DINN) spoke of "the achievement of a major step in the regulatory sequence of the Penly project".

According to the DINN, the preparatory work at Penly, which “should last 3,5 years” will be launched “gradually from this summer”.

“In application of the nuclear acceleration law of June 22, 2023, this authorization makes it possible to begin preparatory work on the site, while the examination of the request for authorization to create future basic nuclear installations continues” , explained the DINN. These so-called preparatory works are in fact distinct from the so-called "nuclear" works (i.e. construction of the work), which "are subject to obtaining the creation authorization decree".

President Emmanuel Macron announced in February 2022 a vast atomic revival program in France providing for the construction of at least 6 new generation EPR2 reactors with a goal of commissioning by 2035 for the first of the two tranches planned at Penly.