Paris, July 31: Top scientists said the way to keep France's electricity bill at its lowest over the next half century was to continue relying on nuclear power, which already provides 80 percent of French electricity."Since the nuclear industry exists, it is clear it is in our economic interest to prolong it because the spendings are vastly compensated by the kilowatt hours received in return," said Bejamin Dessus, one of three scientists who presented Prime Minister Lionel Jospin with a government-commissioned report on the subject.Dessus however added that "while it is true that, on a strictly economic level, nuclear is best, there are also criteria of a political, environmental or societal nature which come into play."The scientists insisted at a news conference their report contained no specific recommendations but gave options aimed at enabling France's leaders to prepare for the future.
France currently depends more heavily on nuclear power for domestic energy than any other western European nation but opposition from environmental groups is strong. Public opinion is also more sensitive to nuclear safety than at any previous time.Neighbouring Germany, which draws about 30 percent of its energy from nuclear power, has already decided to phase out its nuclear power stations with the last one to close in the mid-2020s.One of the three French experts, Rene Pellat of the Atomic Energy Commission, told the news conference: "France's nuclear power stations are safe but one can always do better.
"What the public is afraid of is nuclear waste but technological progress is being made in this field which will reduce the amount of waste though never entirely do away with it," Pellat said. "One precent will always remain and what we need to do is to minimise its effects."Conclusions of the 300-page report spoke of keeping nuclear power stations operational for life spans of up to 45 years. The most modern French nuclear power stations are four years old.
The scientists said that technological progress was so swift and hard to predict it was difficult to calculate future energy needs. "The estimates we have for 2050 run between 530 and 720 terawatts," Dessus said.Uncertainty about the future was also tied to possible cooperation between European states in the energy field, the report said.
The scientists told reporters new choices would have to be made from around 2025 when entirely new sources of energy may have been discovered. (Reuters)One conclusion they reached however was to repeat a basic tenet of French policy, which was to warn against dependency on oil for fear of being held hostage by oil producing nations for political or economic reasons.
France plunged headlong into nuclear power after the 1973 oil crisis born of that year's Arab-Israeli war, during which the public faced severe petrol shortages.
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