Civaux Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear power plant located in Civaux, France
46°27′24″N 0°39′10″E / 46.45667°N 0.65278°E / 46.45667; 0.65278StatusOperationalConstruction began1988Commission date2002; 22 years ago (2002)Operator(s)EDFNuclear power station Reactor typePWR
N4Reactor supplierFramatomeCooling towers2Cooling sourceVienne RiverPower generation Units operational2 x 1561 MWMake and modelAlstomNameplate capacity3,122 MWCapacity factor78.5%Annual net output21,458 GW·hExternal linksWebsiteSite c/o EDFCommonsRelated media on Commons
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The Civaux Nuclear Power Plant is located in the commune of Civaux (Vienne) at the edge of Vienne River between Confolens (60 km upstream) and Chauvigny (14 km downstream), and 44 km south-east of Poitiers.

It has two operating units that were the precursors to the European Pressurized Reactor, being the "N4 stage". Designed for a net power output of 1450 MWe per unit, power was uprated to 1500 MWe in 2010. The Civaux plant uses ambient air and water from the Vienne River for cooling.[1]

As of 2022, 1300 people work at the plant.[2]

The cooling towers of Civaux Nuclear Power Plant are 178 metres in height, which are the highest among those of EDF's nuclear power plants.[3]

Events

  • On 12 May 1998 there was a leak on an elbow in a pipe of the reactor coolant system. Water leaked out at the rate of 30 cubic meters per hour. It was classified as an INES level-2 event.
  • Civaux was a proposed target in the 1998 World Cup terror plot; it was planned that Armed Islamic Group terrorists would crash a hijacked aeroplane into the plant on 15 June 1998. The plot was foiled with a mass arrest of conspirators on 26 May.

Reactors

Unit Type Net power Total power Construction start Construction finish Commercial operation Shut down
CIVAUX-1 PWR 1495 MW 1561 MW 1988/10/15 1997/12/24 2002/01/29
CIVAUX-2 PWR 1495 MW 1561 MW 1991/04/01 1999/12/24 2002/04/23

See also

  • flagFrance portal
  • iconEnergy portal
  • Nuclear technology portal

References

  1. ^ ASN. "La centrale de Civaux". Archived from the original on 30 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  2. ^ EDF. "La centrale nucléaire de Civaux". Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ Document Agence française de sécurité sanitaire de l'environnement et du travail[permanent dead link], 10 octobre 2007
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