- Golfech Nuclear Power Plant
Infobox NPP
Picture = Golfech NPP cropped.jpg
Pic_des = Nuclear power station Golfech
Country =France
Utility =Electricité de France
Built = 1982
Start =February 1 , 1991
End =
Reactor = 2
S_Reactor =
Reactor_MW = 2,726
El_Prod = 17,992
for_year = 2006
El_Prod_avg = 17,955
Net_Prod = 252,134
WEBSITE =
as_of = July 27, 2007The Golfech Nuclear Power Plant is located in the commune ofGolfech (Tarn-et-Garonne ), on the borderGaronne betweenAgen (30 km downstream) andToulouse (90 km upstream) on theTarn River , from where it gets cooling water, and approximately 40 km west ofMontauban .The station has two operating nuclear reactors that are both
Pressurized water reactor s and of the French P'4 design. The plant also has twocooling towers that gets water from the Tarn River, but it only takes water to compensate for evaporation, the cooling loop is closed and water is never released back into the river.In 2002 the plant produced nearly half of the electricity used in the area. It employs nearly 700 full time workers.
History
In 1965, the
Midi-Pyrénées announced intention to construct a nuclear plant nearMalause . EDF then went about securing a site for the station. In 1967 a board of inquiry initially laid out plans for twoUNGG reactor s with an output of 800 MWe each.During falling
Petroleum prices and conflicts between EDF and CEA, the project was delayed to be decided between 1967 and 1969. In 1969 after the leaving ofCharles de Gaulle , CEA gave up on the UNGG plans.In 1973, a nearby hydroelectric plant of 63 MW is finished and the regional manager for EDF announces plans for PWRs at the site to be finished by 1985.
In 1978, EDF announces that Golfech will be the site for 4 PWRs eventually of 1300 MWe each.
On
June 17 , 1979, 5000 protesters walked on the future site and released balloons.Events
These are all 1 on the INES scale and occurred in 1998.
* onSeptember 28 at the time of a check operation of the measuring equipment of the neutron flux in the middle of the reactor, the operator did not respond to one of the signals that should have been investigated.
* onNovember 4 theAutorité de sûreté nucléaire discovered that onOctober 14 , EDF ran the reactor with an overpower of 7% for 30 hours.
* onNovember 27 thecontainment building is evacuated following the release of an alarm of atmospheric detection of radioactivity. Ten workers are slightly contaminated.
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