Jacques Besnainou - The Switch Interview

- I was 10 years old when the oil crisis hit, '73. And I remember it very well because my father was a doctor, a young doctor. And guess what? He couldn't work anymore. Because it's not like in the US, where when you have a crisis, it's more expensive. Over there, there was no gas at the pump for two months. So it was a big crisis and since France has no coal, no oil, they decided that there's no other solution than go full nuclear. So nuclear energy was born out of necessity. Energy security, period. France was in need to get a lot of nuclear power plants built very rapidly. That really no very good technology. So they turn to the US and actually they licensed the US technology. Areva was born out out of company called Framatome and the name of Framatome is French American of a tome. And it was a great success story. In about 25 years, France went from almost no nuclear energy to now about 80% of electricity is made out of nuclear energy. The rest being from almost no footprint. I think the main reason why France was so successful is that there was no change in leadership and in direction. Because a key aspect of nuclear energy is that it's a long term investment. It takes about 10 years from the drawing to the end of construction for a plan to be built. So you need continuity. And there was in France a great continuity from and a great alliance between the government and the industry and the suppliers. And also, I think, I always say that in France we have 360 cheeses and one type of nuclear plant and the US it is the contrary actually. They really stuck to one type of design. It proved very successful. It reduced tremendously the cost of construction 'cause you learn. It helps a lot in maintenance, even in safety. Let's say that we saw that this type of pump was aging faster and leaking in one plant. We shut down the plant, we change the pump. But not only at this plant, but we change the pump at the 50 plants so it doesn't happen again. The safety record of the French nuclear system has been impeccable. And it's really reinforced the confidence of the, it helps get the confidence of the public. Nuclear energy, it's very cheap, first of all. France has the cheapest price of electricity in Europe. It's almost half of Germany's. Second, and it was not designed for this, but as I told you the footprint of France is minimal now. Third, energy security. I think it was very important for France to be able to not to be dependent on oil anymore. Or less dependent. I think, which is very difficult for the US, is financing. Because a nuclear asset is a very large investment. And it's very difficult for any kind of corporation in the US to have a long view and to make a very large investment. So that's why we need government backup. What the US government is doing right now, it's very good. It's rewarding, actually, loan guarantee for first of a kinds to start this type of fleets. And this is the right thing to do, actually. We need four or five different design to be started in the US. Again something people forget is that the US fleet is the oldest on the plant. So it's like all of us, I mean after 60 years, we may have to retire all the fleets. So if we want to keep the same share of nuclear energy in the US, which is 20% of electricity production, we need to replace this old fleet. So that's why the loan guarantee program is so important to really start the renaissance. Areva has made a very conscious decision to invest massively in the US. It's because we do believe in this market. After we've done a couple of new plants, or three or five, and we can show that we build on time and on budget, and I guarantee you we can do it, I think in about five years every utilities here will like to have a new nuclear power asset. Also something that very good about nuclear energy in this renaissance is that it will bring a lot of jobs locally. Each nuclear plant, it's a huge undertaking. It's massive, I mean it's 4,000 people on site for four years, five years. It provides after about 600 jobs for 60 years. So this should be a revival here. It's very important, I'll tell you why it's very important, in my opinion. I'm going to live here I think for the rest of my life. My kids are ready to stay here. I want this agreement to stay competitive. I'm not saying we need 100% electricity, nuclear energy. I'm not advocating for that at all. I think in the US, it's a large country, we need both view approach. I mean renewables is great, they are great, but it's not enough. Every type of energy has advantages and disadvantages. So as a responsible country, we need to advocate for all forms of energy."