Country Spain Operator(s) Iberdrola, S.A. Annual gross output 8,872 GWh Owner Iberdrola | Commission date October 14, 1984 Units operational 1 x 1102 MWe Province Province of Valencia Construction began 1975 | |
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Address 46625 Cofrentes, Valencia, Spain Similar Trillo Nuclear Power Pl, Vandellòs Nuclear Power Pl, José Cabrera Nuclear P, Almaraz Nuclear Power Pl, Castillo de Cofrentes | ||
Nuclear event cofrentes nuclear power plant valencia spain
Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant is a BWR-type nuclear power station located about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southeast of Cofrentes, Spain. Cofrentes NPP entered service on October 14, 1984, with an installed power capacity of 992 MWe. Through improvements, it has successfully expanded its power gradually, first to 110 percent (1,092 MWe), and then to 111 percent (1,102 MWe), allowing the plant to supply virtually all of the domestic energy consumption in Valencian Community.
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ConstructionEdit
Cofrentes NPP is built on the right flank of the Júcar river, which provides water for cooling. It is located 61 km from Valencia in a straight line (100 km by road) and about three km from the Cofrentes volcano, which is generally considered inactive, although its magma chamber still feeds the source of the spa, Hervideros.
Approval to construct the plant was granted by the Ministry of Industry and Energy in 1972. The following two years were dedicated to basic engineering, acquiring the main equipment and securing the construction authorization. In 1975, the Cofrentes Municipal Council issued the building permit and business activity licence, and the Ministry of Industry authorized construction.
The plant project began in March 1973, when contracts were drawn up with General Electric Co. to supply the reactor, turbogenerator (turbine and generator) and the first load of fuel.
The reactor, a BWR-6 type, uses slightly enriched uranium which fissions generate energy as heat. This heat raises the temperature of water used for cooling the core within the primary circuit, while it is transformed into steam which is used directly in the primary circuit to move the turbine coupled to the alternator.
The containment is MARK-III type, in which the primary containment consist of the drywell, a circular suppression pool and metal containment. Secondary containment is formed by the auxiliary building, fuel building and reactor building.
Management, production and electrical contributionEdit
Cofrentes is owned 100 percent by Iberdrola. It has an average annual production of nearly 8,900 million kWh, which equates roughly to the domestic energy consumed by the five million families living in the Valencian Community.
During 2010, it generated 9,549 million kWh operating continuously for 365 days a year. This figure was about 5 percent of national energy production (under the ordinary system)
Throughout 2012, Cofrentes NPP generated 9,376 million kWh, which represents close to 4.9 percent of the national grid energy production (under the ordinary system) and 82 percent of electricity produced in Valencian Community. It generated this electricity while avoiding the emission of approximately 6.5 million tons of CO2.
In 2013, Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant generated 8,325 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), equivalent to approximately 4.9% of Spain’s national electrical production (under the ordinary system) and 14.7% of the energy produced from nuclear sources. The Plant has been running at 87% of its total capacity, operating with generator coupled to the energy grid for 7,801 hours a year.
Reported Events HistoryEdit
From 2001 through March 10, 2011, Cofrentes NPP made 25 unplanned shutdowns. It notified the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN, in Spanish) of 102 security events—three of these were Level 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). The Cofrentes plant has notified an average of 10 reported events each year in the last decade.
In the 90s, it had reported three Level 1 events, which were described as 'anomalies'.
2002
In 2002, Cofrentes NPP had two consecutive reported events during a refueling outage.
2005
For at least two hours on September 21, 2005, a small leak from a hose at the waste building's detergent evaporator released a 0.03 mSv/h dose rate in an area classified as a controlled area (limit 0.025 mSv/h). This reported event had no impact on workers or the environment.
2006
In 2006, Cofrentes NPP reported 10 events, all of which were classified as Level 0 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).
2007
In 2007, Cofrentes NPP notified the nuclear regulator of fifteen events. All were classified as Level 0 on the INES scale.
2008
In 2008, Cofrentes' owner notified CSN of eleven events. All were classified as Level 0.
2009
In 2009, eight events were reported to CSN. All were classified as Level 0 (INES), except for the September 22 fall of a sub-element in the spent-fuel pool.
2010
2011
2012