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Superphénix
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Superphénix

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Also known as Superphenix, SPX

Superphénix (; , SPX) was a nuclear power station prototype on the Rhône river at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. Superphénix was a 1,242 MWe fast breeder reactor with the twin goals of reprocessing nuclear fuel from France's line of conventional nuclear reactors, while also being an economical generator of power on its own. , Superphénix remains the largest breeder reactor ever built.

Key facts

Power station.name
Superphénix
Power station.name_official
Site nucléaire de Creys-Malville
Power station.image
Superphénix.jpg
Power station.image_caption
The Superphenix power plant
Power station.country
France
Power station.location
Creys-Malville
Power station.status
Closed
Power station.construction_began
1976
Power station.operator
NERSA, EDF (51%)ENEL (33%)SBK (16%)
Power station.np_reactor_type
FBR
Power station.np_reactor_supplier
Novatome
Power station.ps_cooling_source
Rhône River
Power station.ps_units_manu_model
Ansaldo
Power station.ps_units_decommissioned
1 × 1,242 MW
Power station.ps_thermal_capacity
3,000 MW
Power station.ps_electrical_capacity
1,242
Power station.ps_annual_generation
3,392 GW·h (1996)
Power station.ps_electrical_cap_fac
31.2%

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Superphenix reactor south.jpg
Show 4 more facts
service retirement
1998-12-31
Commons category
Superphenix
service entry
1986-01-15
nominal power output
1200
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Article

12 sections
Contents
  • Design
  • Background
  • Earlier work and Phénix
  • Superphénix
  • Construction
  • Protest
  • Rocket attack
  • Operation
  • Closure
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Superphénix (; , SPX) was a nuclear power station prototype on the Rhône river at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. Superphénix was a 1,242 MWe fast breeder reactor with the twin goals of reprocessing nuclear fuel from France's line of conventional nuclear reactors, while also being an economical generator of power on its own. , Superphénix remains the largest breeder reactor ever built.

Construction began in 1976, the reactor went critical in 1985 and was connected to the grid in 1986. The project suffered cost overruns, delays and enormous public protests. Overall, the reactor totalized a very low operation factor of 14.4%. Despite many technical issues related to being a first-of-a-kind project most of its downtime was caused by administrative procedure: the plant was technically capable of resuming operations but was forbidden to do so. Technical problems were solved over time and, by 1996, the plant had reached an availability of 95%.

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