Penly Nuclear Power Plant
| Company type | State-owned enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nuclear power generation |
| Headquarters | Penly and Saint-Martin-en-Campagne , France |
Area served | Normandy, France |
| Products | Electricity generation (nuclear) |
| Owner | Électricité de France (EDF) |
Number of employees | 670 |
The Penly Nuclear power facility () is situated roughly northeast of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, straddling the boundary between the communes of Penly and Saint-Martin-en-Campagne in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, along the coastline of the English Channel. Notably, it houses France’s sole industrial funicular railway currently in operation.
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Managed and owned by Électricité de France, the station employs nearly 670 permanent personnel. It utilizes cooling water sourced from the English Channel.
Penly comprises two PWR units, each rated at 1330 MWe, summing to a total output of 2764 MW—aligning with the capacity of a typical French nuclear site. The plant produces approximately 18 billion kilowatt-hours per year, meeting about 80% of Normandy’s electricity requirements. It is located around from Dieppe.
Proposed third and fourth reactors
In January 2009, plans were unveiled by the French government to add a third reactor at Penly, intended as the nation’s second EPR. Construction was initially slated for 2012 with grid connection planned by 2017. GDF Suez was expected to take a minority shareholding, while EDF would maintain majority ownership. However, GDF Suez withdrew from the project in 2010.
After the Fukushima incident in 2011, EDF delayed public consultations, postponing progress on the development. By 2013, Minister Arnaud Montebourg canceled Penly’s new EPR plans, citing sufficient existing nuclear capacity and ongoing investments in renewable energy, despite international confidence in EPR technology.
By 2019, EDF identified Penly as a prime candidate site for new EPR units. In June 2023, EDF commenced the authorization process for two EPR 2 reactors at Penly, aiming to begin site preparation in summer 2024 and start construction around 2027.
Accidents and incidents
9 June 2004 – A minor leak of weakly radioactive water occurred from a reserve tank connected to a reactor’s secondary circuit, discharging into the sea.
11 October 2011 – An employee from a subcontractor suffered localized facial contamination.
5 April 2012 – A small fire broke out within a reactor building due to leaking oil pipes; it was promptly extinguished without injuries or environmental harm. The reactor shut down automatically following smoke detection.
6 April 2012 – Subsequent to the fire, radioactive water leaked through a joint into collection tanks inside the reactor building. This event was classified as level 1 (the lowest) on the seven-tiered International Nuclear Event Scale.
8 March 2023 – Potentially significant cracks were discovered in the hot leg piping of the safety injection system, affecting layered safety measures (INES level 2). The affected section had previously been regarded as resistant to stress corrosion cracking and had undergone double repairs during construction. This finding led EDF to adjust its repair approach.