Assessment of the climate change vulnerability of nuclear power plants in France

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends & family for support they provided & their belief in me as well as guidance they provided without which I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

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ABSTRACT

In this study we try to explore the concept of climate change and nuclear power plant in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on nuclear power and its relation with climate change. The researcher will study the existing research extensively and reach to meaningful conclusion. This research is limited to France. The researched will analyze articles from databases and present conclusion systematically.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

ABSTRACTiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Introduction1

Significance1

Chapter outline1

Background3

International nuclear energy perspectives3

Nuclear development in France4

Mitigation-Adaptation dilemma in France5

The nuclear power plant's cooling system6

Brief Literature Review8

Climate change and Mitigation issues9

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY12

Scope13

Structure13

Assumptions14

REFERENCES15

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

In fifty years, France has become a nuclear-powered nation. The nineteen nuclear power plants currently in operation allow the country to secure 75% of its domestic electricity and export energy to its neighbouring countries. All these plants require important amounts of water to cool their reactors down and are therefore located nearby major rivers or the sea. The quality (temperature) and the quantity (stream flow) of the cooling water are essential parameters as they directly impact on the productivity and the safety of the power station. The heat-waves of 2003 and 2006 strongly affected the electricity production in France. More than x nuclear power plants had to reduce power or shut down because of too high river temperatures and/or too low river stream flows. Even if major black-outs could be avoided by implementing radical adaptation measures, the climatic events put into light the vulnerability of the French nuclear fleet.

Significance

This research holds importance because it will fill out the gaps in the existing literature and open new horizon for future research.

Chapter outline

The dissertation will be structured into six chapters.

Chapter 1 presents the introduction, research question and importance of the study

Chapter 2 provides background to the issue of this study. It presents the nuclear energy perspectives at an international level but also briefly sets the context of nuclear technology in France. Finally, an insight into the nuclear cooling system is given to better apprehend the importance of freshwater availability.

Chapter 3 defines the methodology used to assess the vulnerability of the nuclear plants in France. The framework developed will only focus on the variation in water availability and not water temperature.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Background

The climate change vulnerability of nuclear power plants falls within the realm of a complex debate around the contribution of nuclear energy to the development ...