The No. 1 reactor of the Chooz nuclear power plant, one of the first affected by the discovery of corrosion problems, restarted on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, after more than 500 days of shutdown and almost a month of the No. 2 reactor Closed since December 18, 2021, the number 1 reactor of this plant was reconnected to the grid on Wednesday night and gradually entered production, an EDF spokesperson said.
With a capacity of 1,450 MW each, the two reactors, both commissioned in 2000, are among the most recent and powerful in the EDF nuclear park, which has 56.
Another 20 reactors closed
These two units had to be shut down shortly after the detection in October 2021, during a ten-year inspection, of microcracks in part of the emergency pipes at the Civaux power plant, the last of the French nuclear fleet to be commissioned. service. ., in 2002. The design of the reactors of the two plants is identical. The risk of cracking at other sites was then identified, prompting EDF to expand checks and shutdowns, resulting in a record number of reactors shut down last winter and a level of nuclear production at its lowest point. EDF’s experience had revealed the presence of an unprecedented phenomenon of stress corrosion in emergency piping crucial for cooling power plants, mainly in the latest and most powerful reactors, those of 1,300 and 1,450 MW.
As of May 11, 20 of the 56 reactors were still closed due to scheduled maintenance visits or the continuation of the crack treatment program.
Source: BFM TV
