Paluel Nuclear Power Plant

Paluel Nuclear Power Plant
Map
Official nameCentrale Nucléaire de Paluel
CountryFrance
LocationPaluel, Seine-Maritime, Normandy
Coordinates49°51′29″N 0°38′8″E / 49.85806°N 0.63556°E / 49.85806; 0.63556
StatusOperational
Construction beganUnit 1: 15 August 1977
Unit 2: 1 January 1978
Unit 3: 1 February 1979
Unit 4: 1 February 1980
Commission dateUnits 1–2: 1 December 1985
Unit 3: 1 February 1986
Unit 4: 1 June 1986
OwnerEDF
OperatorEDF
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierFramatome
Cooling sourceEnglish Channel
Thermal capacity4 × 3817 MWth
Power generation
Units operational4 × 1330 MW
Make and modelP4 REP 1300
Nameplate capacity5320 MW
Capacity factor68.53% (lifetime)
Annual net output21,218 GWh (2017)
External links
WebsiteCentrale nucléaire de Paluel
CommonsRelated media on Commons

The Paluel Nuclear Power Plant (French: Centrale nucléaire de Paluel) lies within the French town Paluel in Normandy in the Département Seine-Maritime. The nuclear power plant, which consists of four 1330 MWe class pressurized water reactors, is about 40 kilometers far away from the city of Dieppe and employs approx. 1,250 full-time workers. The operator is the French company EDF. Water from the English Channel is used for cooling.

Achievement

The installed total output of 5.528 GW makes it one of the largest nuclear power stations in France. By electrical output it is second place in France and seventh place worldwide. It feeds on average 32 billion kilowatt-hours into the public electricity grid every year.

Safety

In the past, there were problems with the cooling of the plant due to blockage of cooling water from the English Channel, which caused an automatic reactor trip. The blockage was caused in part by seasonally-present macroalgae, and EDF is pursuing possible solutions to prevent its recurrence with Gunderboom, Inc.

In April 2016 a 450 tonne steam generator crashed onto the reactor floor during the decennial maintenance outage of Paluel 2. Paluel 2 went offline in May 2015, and the incident delayed it's restart until July 2018 after replacement of the steam generator and full testing of concrete damages.[1][2][3][4]

Reactors

Reaktorblock[5] Type Net power Total power Construction start Construction finish Commercial operation Licensed Until
Paluel 1 PWR 1,330 MW 1,382 MW 15.08.1977 22.06.1984 01.12.1985 2025
Paluel 2 PWR 1,330 MW 1,382 MW 01.01.1978 04.09.1984 01.12.1985 2025
Paluel 3 PWR 1,330 MW 1,382 MW 01.02.1979 30.09.1985 01.02.1986 2026
Paluel 4 PWR 1,330 MW 1,382 MW 01.02.1980 11.04.1986 01.06.1986 2026

Notes

References

  1. ^ "French regulator investigating incident at Paluel NPP". Nuclear Engineering International. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. ^ "EDF extends outage of damaged Paluel 2 reactor". Nuclear Engineering International. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ "France to decide reactor closures next year". Nuclear Engineering International. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Le réacteur numéro 2 de Paluel a redémarré après trois ans de sommeil". France 3 Normandie (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  5. ^ Power Reactor Information System der IAEA: „France (French Republic): Nuclear Power Reactors“ (English)