Paluel Nuclear Power Plant | |
---|---|
Official name | Centrale Nucléaire de Paluel |
Country | France |
Location | Paluel |
Coordinates | 49°51′29″N 0°38′8″E / 49.85806°N 0.63556°ECoordinates: 49°51′29″N 0°38′8″E / 49.85806°N 0.63556°E |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | 1977 |
Commission date | June 22, 1984 |
Operator(s) | EDF |
Nuclear power station | |
Reactor supplier | Framatome |
Cooling source | English Channel |
Cooling towers | no |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 4 x 1,382 MW |
Make and model | Alstom |
Nameplate capacity | 5,528 MW |
Capacity factor | 71.0% |
Annual output | 34,402 GW·h |
Website Site c/o Betreibers |
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.
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.
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.