France's EDF investigates second automatic shutdown at Flamanville 3 reactor
By Alban Kacher and Benjamin Mallet
Sept 17 (Reuters) -French state-owned energy group EDF said on Tuesday its teams were shutting down the new Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to carry out technical checks after the plant triggered an automatic halt for the second time this month.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Flamanville's new-generation EPR reactor is the first nuclear unit to be connected to the French grid since the Civaux 2 nuclear reactor in 1999. It is expected to produce about 1.6 gigawatts (GW) per hour, making it France's largest reactor.
KEY QUOTE
"The start-up of an EPR is a long and complex process, involving the commissioning of equipment for the first time. Other automatic shutdowns and contingencies are likely to be activated until the reactor reaches full power," an EDF spokesperson said in a statement.
CONTEXT
After 12 years of delays and setbacks, EDF started divergence operations - the first nuclear fission that allows electricity production to begin - on the Flamanville 3 nuclear plant about two weeks ago.
The reactor stopped automatically on Sept. 4, only a day after it entered production, due to human error during post-divergence tests.
The French power utility said on Sept. 7 it resumed activity and testing at the plant, in order to prepare for the connection procedure planned for late autumn.
WHAT’S NEXT
After identifying the technical details of the issue, EDF teams will carry out some more checks and adjustments before resuming start-up operations, the EDF spokesperson said.
Reporting by Alban Kacher and Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Tassilo Hummel, editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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