Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station | |
---|---|
The Gentilly-2 (left) and Gentilly-1 (right) nuclear generating stations |
|
|
|
Official name | Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly |
Country | Canada |
Location | Bécancour, Quebec |
Coordinates | |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | 1973 |
Commission date | October 1, 1983 |
Owner(s) | Hydro-Québec |
Operator(s) | Hydro-Québec |
Reactor information | |
Reactors operational | 635 MW |
Reactors decom. | 250 MW |
Reactor supplier(s) | Atomic Energy of Canada Limited |
Power generation information | |
Annual generation | 3,490 GWh |
Net generation | 117,053 GWh |
Website Hydro-Québec: Gentilly-2 |
|
As of 2011-03-24 |
Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station (or Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly in French) is a Canadian nuclear power station located near Bécancour, Quebec. The facility derives its name from the Gentilly suburb of the city of Bécancour, in which it is located. It is around 100 km north east of Montreal.
The Gentilly site contains the only power reactors in Quebec (there is also a SLOWPOKE reactor at the Ecole Polytechnique) and comprises two nuclear reactors (one CANDU-BWR prototype, now decommissioned, and one CANDU) located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The facility was constructed in stages between 1966–1983 by the provincial Crown corporation, Hydro-Québec. Gentilly-1 is closed and in the decommissioning process, while Gentilly-2 is currently in operation.
Contents |
Gentilly-1 was a prototype CANDU-BWR reactor, based on the SGHWR design. It was designed for a net output of 250MW(e). The reactor had several features unique amongst CANDU reactors, including vertically-oriented pressure tubes (allowing for the use of a single fuelling machine below the core), and light-water coolant. These features were intended to reduce the cost and complexity of the unit, again to make it an attractive export unit. However, the design was not successful, and over nearly 7 years recorded only 180 on-power days. Gentilly-1 is no longer in operation.
Gentilly-2 is a standard CANDU 6 reactor, similar to the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. The CANDU 6 is a successful reactor type, and has been exported to South Korea, Argentina, Romania and China. The plant has a net output of 675MW(e). Unlike the adjacent Gentilly-1 reactor, Gentilly-2 has had a good service record since start-up in 1982, with a cumulative operating factor of 79.53%,[1] and is due to shut down for refurbishment sometime around 2012.
On August 19, 2008, Quebec announced that it will spend $1.9B to overhaul Gentilly-2 that should extend its lifespan to 2040.[2]
The G-2 site also houses a 381MW gas turbine generation plant.