The Nuclear power

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 station Paluel lies within the French town Paluel

Paluel

Paluel is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A village of farming and light industry situated by the banks of the river Durdent in the Pays de Caux at the junction of the D10, D68 and the D79 roads, some southwest of...

 in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 in the Département Seine-Maritime

Seine-Maritime

Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...

. 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

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime

Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...

 and employs approx. 1,250 full time workers. The operator is the French company EDF. Water from the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 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 causes an automatic reactor trip.

The blockage has been caused in part by seasonally-present macroalgae, and EDF is pursuing possible solutions to prevent its entrainment with Gunderboom, Inc.

Reactors

Reaktorblock	Type	Net power	Total power	Construction start	Construction finish	Commercial operation	Shut down
Paluel 1	PWR Pressurized 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...	1,330 MW	1,382 MW	15.08.1977	22.06.1984	01.12.1985	2025 planned
Paluel 2	PWR Pressurized 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...	1,330 MW	1,382 MW	01.01.1978	04.09.1984	01.12.1985	2025 planned
Paluel 3	PWR Pressurized 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...	1,330 MW	1,382 MW	01.02.1979	30.09.1985	01.02.1986	2026 planned
Paluel 4	PWR Pressurized 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...	1,330 MW	1,382 MW	01.02.1980	11.04.1986	01.06.1986	2026 planned