Charlie Stross (cstross@wandering.shop)'s status on Tuesday, 24-Dec-2024 02:13:14 JST

France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country's nuclear power network in 25 years. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/france-adds-first-nuclear-reactor-25-years-grid-2024-12-21/

(It's way over budget and 13 years late but it's the first EPR in France, so effectively a prototype. 17% less fuel per kWh power output, extensive passive safety features. These are EPR1 designs; the EPR2 is a simplified, cheaper design but none have been built yet.)