current affairs
Cattenom
NUCLEAR UPGRADE An unpopular neighbour is revamping its maintenance programme and redoubling its communications efforts. Will the plan bolster EDF’s bottom line? Text: Aaron Grunwald — Photos: Olivier Minaire
In early February, three contractors working at EDF’s Cattenom nuclear power plant were exposed to traces of radioactivity. In fact, the contamination was minuscule and all three went home within 24 hours. Such events were not a surprise to EDF, as Cattenom’s production unit three is currently undergoing its ten-yearly overhaul. That’s when every part of the reactor and generating system is checked and major maintenance is performed--all monitored by government officials, including those from the Grand Duchy. The effort is part of the French nuclear industry’s strategy to boost the working life, and thus the profitability, of its plants. Cattenom’s four reactors generated 35 billion kilowatt hours in 2010, enough electricity to power 1.4 trillion 25-watt lightbulbs at a time. That makes it “the most powerful plant in Europe and seventh in the world in terms of production,” Didier Fortuny, the facility’s deputy director for technology and finance, told Delano during an extensive visit inside the plant. His team spends an average of €80 million on maintenance annually. Each reactor is shutdown every 18 months for routine repairs, and every 10 years for a massive €30 million, three-month check-up, he says. Pipes, valves, tanks and walls are
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pressure-tested and x-rayed. Turbine rotors and alternator components are inspected and replaced. EDF’S BOLD PLAN In addition to maximizing safety and efficiency, the programme is part of EDF’s ambitious plan to extend the life of its nuclear footprint. Today the energy giant’s 58 nuclear reactors in France are an average of 24 years old and most have an expected operating life of 60 years. EDF hopes an aggressive maintenance schedule means the utility will receive approval to run its reactors for 70 or more years, Fortuny discloses. That means extending the operating life of Cattenom’s oldest production unit from 2046 to 2056 or beyond. Fortuny is not able to speculate as to when EDF might receive such permission from the French Nuclear Safety Authority, as each reactor is licensed separately and officially has no expiry date. Indeed, the regulator could shut down a reactor at any time. The rules are so strict that French nuclear inspectors must give approval to restart each time a reactor is offline for 15 days or more. That is in addition to controls by several other environmental agencies, which operate dozens of monitoring stations throughout the Greater Region.
One of those stations, located near Zoufftgen in Roussy-le-Village, belongs to the Grand Duchy’s government. With an installation cost of about €250,000, it continually samples and analyses radionuclide levels in the air, explains Patrick Breuskin, principal inspector with the Luxembourg health