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French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher reportedly said last month that EDF was committed to restarting all its nuclear reactors this winter.

Jean-marie Hosatte | Gamma-rapho | Getty Images

France faces a winter of discontent, energy analysts say, as deep-rooted problems with its nuclear-heavy energy strategy raise serious questions about its preparedness for the colder months.

A long-standing source of national pride, France generates roughly 70% of its electricity from a nuclear fleet of 56 reactors, all operated by state-owned utility EDF.

It makes France home to the world’s largest fleet of reactors after the U.S. and ensured Paris was less exposed than its neighbors to a dramatic cut in Russian gas supplies.

However, more than half of EDF’s nuclear reactors have been shut down for corrosion problems, maintenance and technical issues in recent months, thanks in part to extreme heat waves and repair delays from the Covid pandemic. The outages have resulted in French power output falling to a near 30-year low just as the European Union faces its worst energy crisis in decades.

“I find the France nuclear relationship really interesting because it just bluntly shows you all of the pros and cons of nuclear,” Norbert Ruecker, head of economics and next generation research at Julius Baer, told CNBC via telephone.

“Yes, its low carbon but it’s not economic. You need to nationalize EDF to make it happen. Yes, it offers baseload but wait a second, sometimes a whole plant disappears for weeks and months, so that baseload promise is not really there,” Ruecker said.

A harshly cold winter after a harshly dry and hot summer would test the country’s power supplies to the limit.

Mujtaba Rahman

Managing director of Europe at Eurasia Group

French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said last month that EDF was committed to restarting all its nuclear reactors this winter, Reuters reported, with closed reactors reopening each week from October.

French grid operator RTE, meanwhile, reportedly said there is no risk of a total blackout this winter but some power cuts during peak demand periods cannot be ruled out.

“Most of the nuclear power plants should be back online before the winter, so basically by November or December. So, if you trust France’s grid operator, things will be fine,” Ruecker said.

“There should be some conservatism in terms of whether France will be able to bring these reactors back on time, but we shouldn’t be overly pessimistic. The track record shows they have more or less been on time as of late.”

A ‘winter of discontent’?

French power prices climbed to a string of all-time highs this summer, peaking at an eyewatering level of around 1,100 euros ($1,073) per megawatt hour in late August. Analysts fear the country may struggle to produce enough nuclear energy to support both its own needs and those of its neighbors in the coming months.

Underlining the structural problems in the country’s nuclear fleet, France not only lost its position as Europe’s biggest exporter of electricity this year but also, remarkably, actually imported more power than it exported.

Data from energy analysts at EnAppSys that was published in July found that Sweden clinched the top spot as Europe’s largest net power exporter during the first six months of 2022. Prolonged outages in France’s nuclear fleet saw the country’s exports halve from the same period last year, and analysts at EnAppSys warned the situation showed “no signs of improving any time soon.”

To compensate, France imported expensive electricity from U.K., Germany, Spain and elsewhere.

“Thanks to the market, thanks to the power lines that we have, Europe saved France from a big blackout” this summer, Julius Baer’s Ruecker said.

“It was the U.K., Germany, Spain and to some extent Switzerland that all stepped in. So, for me, the past month really has just uncovered some of the political talk which was not always objective,” he added, referring to talk of nuclear energy as a climate solution among politicians.

France not only lost its position as Europe’s biggest exporter of electricity this year but also, remarkably, imported more power than it exported.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a bid to protect households and businesses over the coming months, President Emmanuel Macron’s administration last month announced plans to cap power and gas price increases at 15% next year.

It represents a substantial jump from this year when the added cost of electricity for homes and small businesses was capped at 4% and gas at 0%.

Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said the extended subsidies — the most generous in the EU — are likely to add to the French government’s difficulties in facing down fiscal and budgetary battles.

“Much will depend on two factors,” Rahman said in a research note. “First, the success of the government’s energy austerity programme (which will be voluntary for households and compulsory for public bodies and industry). Secondly, the weather. A harshly cold winter after a harshly dry and hot summer would test the country’s power supplies to the limit.”

“For now, we maintain our 65% base case that Macron will dissolve the National Assembly by the middle of next year, but only if he believes that his centrist alliance has a strong chance of restoring its majority, albeit under downward pressure if France suffers a cold and troubled winter,” Rahman said.

“A winter of discontent is not a good preparation for an election.”

What does it mean for Europe?

France’s ailing power output has renewed criticism of its nuclear-heavy energy strategy at a time when many others in Europe are turning to atomic power as a replacement for a shortfall in Russian gas.

Germany, which initially planned to shutter its three remaining reactors by the end of the year, decided to delay its nuclear phaseout to shore up energy supplies this winter. The U.K., meanwhile, is seeking to ramp up its nuclear power generation, and the EU has listed nuclear energy among its list of “green” investments.

“It is important to say that if France has a nuclear problem, Europe has a problem as well in terms of electricity,” Alexandre Danthine, senior associate for the French power market at Aurora Energy Research, told CNBC via telephone.

“They are, in general, a big exporter, but in winter they need energy from neighboring countries in order to satisfy demands — whatever the situation,” Danthine said.

At the start of his presidency, Macron had committed to reducing the share of nuclear power in France’s energy mix.

Ludovic Marin | Afp | Getty Images

In France, Eurasia Group’s Rahman noted, Macron reacted angrily last month to suggestions, including from outgoing EDF boss Jean-Bernard Levy, that his “stop-start approach” to nuclear power in the last five years was partly responsible for the crisis.

In what was widely seen as a policy U-turn, Macron announced in February his intention for France to build at least six new nuclear reactors in the decades to come, with the option for another eight. At the start of his presidency, Macron had committed to reducing the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix.

The reversal controversially placed atomic power at the center of France’s bid to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century.

Advocates of nuclear power argue it has the potential to play a major role in helping countries generate electricity while slashing carbon emissions and reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

To critics of the energy source, however, nuclear power is an expensive distraction to faster, cheaper and cleaner alternatives. Instead, environmental campaign groups argue technologies such as wind and solar should be prioritized in the planned shift to renewable energy sources.

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Tesla board members officially settle excessive compensation case for nearly $1 billion

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January 8, 2025

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Tesla board members officially settle excessive compensation case for nearly billion

A judge has officially approved a settlement in a case brought by Tesla shareholders against board members who will now have to return stock, cash, and give up on stock options worth a total of nearly $1 billion.

Let me start this article with a quote from Tesla CEO Elon Musk:

Tesla will never settle a case where we’re in the right, and never contest a case where we’re in the wrong.

Today, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick approved a settlement agreement between Tesla and all its board members from 2017 to 2020 and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit on behalf of Tesla shareholders over what the shareholders believed to be excessive compensation.

The agreement was first reported in July 2023, but it is only now being officially approved and we learn a few more details.

Shareholders believed that members of Tesla’s board were compensating themselves excessively with hundreds of millions of dollars between 2017 and 2020 when the average compensation of a board member of a S&P500 company is just north of $300,000.

Under the settlement, the board members agree to return to Tesla $277 million in cash, $459 million in stock options and to forgo $184 million worth of stock options awarded for 2021-2023.

That adds up to nearly $1 billion.

The board members include Kimbal Musk, Elon’s brother, Brad Buss, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Stephen Jurvetson, all close friends of Elon Musk and people who have financial dealings with Musk outside of Tesla, Linda Johnson Rice, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Hiromichi Mizuno and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp and also a close friend of Musk.

As part of the settlement, Tesla or the board does not admit to any wrongdoing.

Musk didn’t take compensation as part of the board, but he is embroiled in a similar case over his own $55 billion CEO compensation package, which was rescinded by the same judge after she found that it wasn’t negotiated or presented to shareholders in good faith.

The board members who received this “excessive compensation” also happened to be the one who “negotiated” Musk’s CEO compensation package.

The case is heading to the Delaware Supreme Court, as reported earlier today.

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Nissan’s Ariya electric SUV takes on the extreme weather in its new test chamber [Video]

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January 8, 2025

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Nissan's Ariya electric SUV takes on the extreme weather in its new test chamber [Video]

Nissan-Ariya-chamber

Despite how cold it may feel outside, Nissan’s electric SUV has likely been through colder. Nissan is proving its Ariya SUV can handle the extreme weather at its unique new test chamber at its tech center near Detroit. With temperatures ranging from -40 to 176 °F, the Ariya is being pushed to see what it’s made of.

Nissan launched the Ariya, its first electric SUV, in the US in late 2022. Over 13,400 Ariya models were sold in the US in its first sales year, with another nearly 20,000 handed over in 2024.

A few weeks ago, Nissan introduced the 2025 Ariya, starting at just $39,770. It has two battery options, 66 or 91 kWh, good for 216 and 289 miles range. That’s for the FWD models.

You can opt for Nissan’s e-4ORCE AWD dual-motor system for “thrilling acceleration” with up to 389 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. However, with the added power, you sacrifice some range. The AWD Ariya gets up to 272 miles range.

With many parts of the country seeing frigid temperatures, Nissan says its “Ariya is very well equipped” to combat freezing weather.

Nissan-2025-Ariya-incentives
2025 Nissan Ariya Platinum+ e-4ORCE (Source: Nissan)

The electric SUV was already the first vehicle (EV or gas-powered) to drive from the North to the South Pole in 2023. Now, it’s being put through the paces at Nissan’s tech center outside of Detroit.

It’s currently around 23 °F in Detroit, with a low of 11 °F, but Nissan says it’s even colder in its unique new test chamber. The chamber is located at the Nissan Technical Center North America campus, just outside Detroit.

Nissan-Ariya-chamber
The Ariya in Nissan’s test chamber (Source: Nissan)

Nissan Ariya handles cold weather tests in new chamber

“Our chambers are capable of temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 176 degrees Fahrenheit,” Jeff Tessmer, senior manager of Zero Emission Vehicles at Nissan’s tech center, explained.

Nissan tests the Ariya in a test chamber with “far more extreme” temperatures than the typical driver will see. Tessmer said, “We want to test the worst-case scenario so that our customers will still get the same performance in a wide variety of weather conditions.”

One of the biggest goals is to prove the electric SUV’s battery can maintain charge levels even in extreme weather.

Nissan Ariya undergoes extreme cold weather chamber test (Source: Nissan)

Nissan puts it through “cold soak” tests to ensure performance. During a 24-hour cold soak, the Ariya was parked in -4 °F weather with a 17% battery charge. It also wasn’t plugged in or using its battery heater. After the team returned the next day, the electric SUV still had a 17% charge and started up immediately.

The Ariya is equipped with a battery heater that drivers can turn on ahead of time to ensure optimal performance. On hot days, it includes a liquid-cooled system to regulate battery temperatures.

Nissan-2025-Ariya-incentives
2025 Nissan Ariya Platinum+ e-4ORCE interior (Source: Nissan)

Drivers can also use the MYNISSAN app to pre-warm the cabin, check the interior temperature, and schedule charging times. Ansu Jammeh, an engineer on Nissan’s Zero Emissions Engineering team, said the best time to use the heating feature is “when the vehicle is plugged in so that it uses power from the grid instead of the vehicle.”

2025 Nissan Ariya trim Battery
(kWh)		 Starting Prices* (MSRP) Range
(miles)
Engage FWD 66 $39,770 216
Engage e-4ORCE 66 $43,770 205
Evolve + FWD 91 $44,370 289
Engage + e-4ORCE 91 $45,370 272
Evolve + e-4ORCE 91 $48,370 272
Platinum + e-4ORCE 91 $54,370 267
2025 Nissan Ariya prices and range by trim (*not including a $1,390 destination fee)

Nissan added a new wireless charging pad across all 2025 Ariya models. The inside features Nissan’s Advanced Drive-Assist setup with dual 12.3″ infotainment and driver display screens formed in a “wave-like” shape.

Other standard features of the 2025 model include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, a Head-up display, and a Virtual Personal Assistant. It also includes Nissan’s ProPilot Assist for assisted driving.

Are you ready to check out Nissan’s electric SUV for yourself? We can help you get started. You can use our link to find Nissan Ariya models at the best price in your area today.

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This Florida solar farm is supplying clean energy to 12 cities

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6 hours ago

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January 8, 2025

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This Florida solar farm is supplying clean energy to 12 cities

Florida olar farm
Photo: Florida Municipal Power Agency

Florida’s Rice Creek Solar Energy Center is now online, delivering nearly 75 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity to 12 cities across the state. The solar farm is part of the Florida Municipal Solar Project, one of the largest municipal solar initiatives in the US.

Located in Putnam County, near Palatka, the Rice Creek site is covered with 213,000 solar panels that generate enough power for around 14,000 homes. This marks the third solar site in the Florida Municipal Solar Project, with more on the way.

Twelve utilities are tapping into the clean energy from Rice Creek, including Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach), Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, Homestead, Keys Energy Services in Key West, Kissimmee Utility Authority, Lake Worth Beach, Mount Dora, New Smyrna Beach Utilities, Newberry, Ocala, Town of Havana, and Winter Park. This is the first solar power project for Havana, New Smyrna Beach, and Newberry.

Jacob Williams, the general manager of the Florida Municipal Power Agency, explained, “By working together, our members and their communities benefit from additional solar-powered energy that’s both cost-effective and carbon-free.”

The FMPA, based in Orlando, coordinates the project, while the 12 municipal utilities – who are also FMPA’s member-owners – purchase the power. Miami-based Origis Energy is the builder, owner, and operator of Rice Creek. According to Origis Energy’s Josh Teigiser, “We are honored to support this FMPA work. Long-term agreements for solar generation, including for Rice Creek Solar, provide a stable rate base contributing to lower and more predictable customers’ bills.”

Construction is already underway on a fourth Florida solar farm, Whistling Duck Solar, in Levy County. The Florida Municipal Solar Project is expected to grow to seven sites in the next few years and will generate a total of around 525 MW of clean energy.

Read more: Ohio’s largest solar farm just came online

To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

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