Reactor number 1 of the Golfech nuclear power plant, which was initially to be restarted in February 2023, saw its recovery postponed to June 11. Faced with the same stress corrosion phenomenon, reactor number 2 will be shut down from March to August 2023.
In full tension on questions of electricity supply for this winter, here is bad news. Shut down since last February as part of its third ten-year visit, reactor number 1 of the Golfech nuclear power plant will ultimately not be able to restart as planned on February 18 to cover the end of winter. Reason: the preventive replacement of sections of piping threatened with cracks. It can then only be relaunched on June 11, 2023.
EDF announced it in an information note published at the end of last week. The reactors exposed to the risk of corrosion will have to be systematically treated before the end of 2023. They will be stopped for the duration of the works, which should last for around five months for each operation.
16 reactors targeted, including the two from Golfech
“The analyzes carried out for more than a year have enabled EDF to identify the reactors whose safety injection circuit lines are the most sensitive to the development of the stress corrosion phenomenon” (SCC), indicates EDF in its note. These are the 16 most recent reactors” out of the 56 in France.
12 of these 16 reactors are 1,300 megawatts (MW). The two Golfech reactors are in this category.
“Golfech’s number 1 reactor having already been shut down for ten-year maintenance since February 2022, it will not be reconnected to the national electricity grid on February 18, as originally planned. Due to this request to replace the piping, the restart date has been postponed to June 11,” explains Romain Philippeau, communications officer at the Golfech nuclear power plant.
Then will come the time to take care of reactor number 2 of the power station, which is currently in operation. Until now, EDF had planned for a long time to also stop this reactor on March 18 to carry out a more traditional maintenance and control operation. Now the schedule has accelerated. “We are therefore going to take advantage of this shutdown which begins on March 18 to carry out the work requested on the corrosion. The restart is scheduled for August 25, 2023, ”says the manager.
In short, the calculation is quickly done. the Golfec nuclear power plant will not produce electricity between March 18 and June 11.