Gravelines Nuclear Power Station
| Gravelines Nuclear Power Station | |
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Gravelines Nuclear Power Station
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 Location of Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in France
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| Official name | Centrale Nucléaire de Gravelines |
| Country | France |
| Location | Gravelines, Nord |
| Coordinates | 51°00′55″N 02°08′10″E / 51.01528°N 2.13611°ECoordinates: 51°00′55″N 02°08′10″E / 51.01528°N 2.13611°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1974 |
| Commission date | 13 March 1980 |
| Operator(s) | EDF |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Framatome |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 6 x 951 MW |
| Make and model | Alstom |
| Nameplate capacity | 5,706 MW |
| Capacity factor | 76.9% |
| Annual output | 38,462 GW·h |
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Website EDF.com |
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The Gravelines Nuclear Power Station is the sixth largest nuclear power station in the world, the second largest in Europe (after the nuclear power station of Zaporizhia, Ukraine) and the largest in Western Europe. It is located near the commune of Gravelines in Nord, France, approximately 20 km (12 mi) from Dunkerque and Calais. Its cooling water comes from the North Sea. The plant consists of 6 nuclear reactors of 900 MW each. In 2006 the plant produced 38.14 TWh, 8,1% of the whole amount of electricity produced in France. Two reactors entered service in 1980, two in 1981, and two in 1985.
The site employs 1680 regular employees. As of the 2nd of August 2010, it became the first nuclear station anywhere in the world to produce over one thousand terawatt-hour of electricity.
The reactors of units 5 and 6 were initially intended for export to Iran, but the order was cancelled after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Their design, known as CPY, was the basis for the Chinese CPR-1000. An intermediate derivative is called the M310.
The cooling water that carries waste heat from the plant is used by a local commune of aquafarmers who raise European seabass and gilt-head breams. The warm water helps them grow faster.
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Wikipedia