Paluel Nuclear Power Plant

49°51′29″N 0°38′8″E / 49.85806°N 0.63556°E / 49.85806; 0.63556StatusOperationalConstruction beganUnit 1: 15 August 1977
Unit 2: 1 January 1978
Unit 3: 1 February 1979
Unit 4: 1 February 1980Commission dateUnits 1–2: 1 December 1985
Unit 3: 1 February 1986
Unit 4: 1 June 1986Owner(s)EDFOperator(s)EDFNuclear power station Reactor typePWRReactor supplierFramatomeCooling sourceEnglish ChannelThermal capacity4 × 3817 MW_thPower generation Units operational4 × 1330 MWMake and modelP4 REP 1300Nameplate capacity5320 MWCapacity factor68.53% (lifetime)Annual net output21,218 GWh (2017)External linksWebsiteCentrale nucléaire de PaluelCommonsRelated media on Commons

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.

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)