| Doel Nuclear Power Station | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Belgium |
| Location | Doel |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction began | 1969 |
| Commission date | 15 February 1975 |
| Owner(s) | Indivision Doel (EBES, INTERCOM, UNERG) |
| Operator(s) | Electrabel M.V. Nucleaire Produktie |
| Reactor information | |
| Reactors operational | 1 x 392 MW 1 x 433 MW 1 x 1006 MW 1 x 1008 MW |
| Reactor type(s) | pressurized water reactors |
| Reactor supplier(s) | Framatome |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | 2,911 MW |
| Annual generation | 21,670 GW·h |
| Net generation | 515,257 GW·h |
| As of July 25, 2007 | |
The Doel Nuclear Power Station is one of the two nuclear power plants 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 (200 acres).
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 (47 mi).[1]
The plant consists of four second-generation pressurized water reactors 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 towers 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 falcons.