The Flamanville (Mancha) EPR nuclear reactor, which will restart this Wednesday, will remain at the stop until August 13 to verify the voltage of the main main circuit valves, we learned on Wednesday from EDF.
“After the analysis, the Flamanville 3 reactor remains at a stop (until August 13) to machining the main main circuit valve,” said the AFP energy company, confirming information from Franceinfo. These are three parts located in a pressurist in the main main circuit, that is, the reactor cooling circuit.
“We need to intervene on them to evaluate them and possibly intervene technicians. That is why we extend the stop,” said a spokesman. “There were questions about the sealing criteria in the valves. This is what we inspect to verify that we respect the criteria and that everything is in conformity,” he added.
EDF aims to move to 100% energy at the end of summer
At the end of these interventions, EDF will prove and restart the reactor, he said. “The next step is to request that the ASNR agreement (nuclear and radiation protection authority, editor’s note) reach 80% of the reactor’s nominal power,” he said.
The EPR had been arrested on June 19 as part of the reactor implementation tests. According to EDF, the objective remains the 100% power transition before the end of the summer of 2025. EDF had warned that the increase in the power of the 57th French nuclear reactor would be a progressive process, which could require a dozen scheduled maintenance stops and, in parallel, useless operations. The third generation reactor connected to the network on December 21, 2024, 12 years late.
Source: BFM TV
