Nuclear Plant Doel
Encyclopedia
The Doel Nuclear Power Station is one of the two nuclear power plant
s in Belgium
. The plant lies on the bank of the Scheldt
, near the village of Doel
in the Flemish
province
of East Flanders
. The Belgian energy corporation Electrabel
is the plant's largest stakeholder. The plant employs 800 workers and covers an area of 80 hectares (197.7 acre).
The station is located in the most densely populated area of all nuclear power stations in Europe, with 9 million inhabitants within a radius of 75 kilometres (46.6 mi).
s with a total capacity of 2,911 MWe, making it the second largest nuclear power plant in Belgium, after Nuclear Plant Tihange
. Its four units are rated as follows:
Doel 1 and 2 came online in 1975, while Doel 3 and 4 came online in 1982 and 1985, respectively.
With a height of 176 meters, the two cooling tower
s are the most visible structure in the Port of Antwerp
. Due to its proximity to the Dutch-Belgian border, the towers and the accompanying vapor can be seen in large parts of Dutch provinces
of Zeeland
and western North Brabant
. Since 1995, one of the cooling towers has hosted a nest of peregrine falcon
s.
-incidents at Doel. Nobody was injured.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
s in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The plant lies on the bank of the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
, near the village of Doel
Doel
Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
in the Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of East Flanders
East Flanders
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...
. The Belgian energy corporation Electrabel
Electrabel
Electrabel is a Belgium-based energy corporation. It is a subsidiary of GDF Suez.-History:Electrabel was established in 1905. Its actual name originates from 1990, after the regrouping of the companies Intercom, Ebes and Unerg....
is the plant's largest stakeholder. The plant employs 800 workers and covers an area of 80 hectares (197.7 acre).
The station is located in the most densely populated area of all nuclear power stations in Europe, with 9 million inhabitants within a radius of 75 kilometres (46.6 mi).
Reactors
The plant consists of four second-generation pressurized water reactorPressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
s with a total capacity of 2,911 MWe, making it the second largest nuclear power plant in Belgium, after Nuclear Plant Tihange
Nuclear Plant Tihange
The Tihange Nuclear Power Station, along with Doel Nuclear Power Station, is one of the two large-scale nuclear power plants in Belgium. It is located on the right bank of the Meuse River in the Belgian district of Tihange, part of Huy municipality in the Walloon province of Liège...
. Its four units are rated as follows:
- Doel 1 : 433 MWe
- Doel 2 : 433 MWe
- Doel 3 : 1006 MWe
- Doel 4 : 1039 MWe
Doel 1 and 2 came online in 1975, while Doel 3 and 4 came online in 1982 and 1985, respectively.
Cooling towers
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
s are the most visible structure in the Port of Antwerp
Port of Antwerp
The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland. The inland location means that the port...
. Due to its proximity to the Dutch-Belgian border, the towers and the accompanying vapor can be seen in large parts of Dutch provinces
Provinces of the Netherlands
A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The government of each province consists of three major parts: the Provinciale Staten which is the...
of Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
and western North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
. Since 1995, one of the cooling towers has hosted a nest of peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s.
Incidents
In 1992, 2006 and 2011 there were INES 2International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
-incidents at Doel. Nobody was injured.
See also
- List of nuclear power stations
- Nuclear Plant TihangeNuclear Plant TihangeThe Tihange Nuclear Power Station, along with Doel Nuclear Power Station, is one of the two large-scale nuclear power plants in Belgium. It is located on the right bank of the Meuse River in the Belgian district of Tihange, part of Huy municipality in the Walloon province of Liège...