Paluel Nuclear Power Plant
The Nuclear power station Paluel (French: Centrale nucléaire de Paluel) lies within the French town Paluel in Normandy in the Département Seine-Maritime. The nuclear power station, 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.
| Paluel Nuclear Power Plant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| Official name | Centrale Nucléaire de Paluel |
| Country | France |
| Location | Paluel, Seine-Maritime, Normandy |
| Coordinates | 49°51′29″N 0°38′8″E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | Unit 1: August 15, 1977 Unit 2: January 1, 1978 Unit 3: February 1, 1979 Unit 4: February 1, 1980 |
| Commission date | Units 1–2: December 1, 1985 Unit 3: February 1, 1986 Unit 4: June 1, 1986 |
| Owner(s) | EDF |
| Operator(s) | EDF |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Framatome |
| Cooling source | English Channel |
| Thermal capacity | 4 × 3817 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 4 × 1330 MW |
| Make and model | P4 REP 1300 |
| Nameplate capacity | 5320 MW |
| Capacity factor | 45.53% (2017)[lower-alpha 1] 68.53% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 21,218 GWh (2017) |
| External links | |
| Website | Centrale nucléaire de Paluel |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
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 entrainment 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 is now expected to return to service in April 2018 after the replacement of the steam generator.[1][2][3]
Reactors
| Reaktorblock[4] | 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
- Unit 2 has been completely offline since May 2015 — see #Safety for details.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paluel nuclear power plant. |
- "French regulator investigating incident at Paluel NPP". Nuclear Engineering International. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- "EDF extends outage of damaged Paluel 2 reactor". Nuclear Engineering International. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- "France to decide reactor closures next year". Nuclear Engineering International. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- Power Reactor Information System der IAEA: „France (French Republic): Nuclear Power Reactors“ (English)