France's National Assembly yesterday gave final approval of
the country's energy transition bill. Under the legislation, France's reliance
on nuclear energy will be reduced to 50% of power generation by 2025.
French president Francois Hollande's 2012 election pledge
was to limit nuclear's share of French generation at 50% by 2025, and the
closure of France's oldest nuclear power plant, Fessenheim, by the end of 2016.
In June last year, following a national energy debate, his government announced
that the country's nuclear generating capacity would be capped at the current
level of 63.2 GWe. It will also be limited to 50% of France's total output by
2025. Nuclear currently accounts for almost 75% of the country's electricity
production, making closures of power reactors appear inevitable.
