Publication Laka-library:
EL 4 power station (Chinon)
| Author | EdF |
| Date | 1963 |
| Classification | 2.02.9.90/02 (FRANCE - OTHER FACILITIES) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Decided in 1962, the construction of EL4 is an experiment with a heavy water moderated variant of the natural uranium-gas cooled technology, on which the French nuclear power program is based. The primary power sources of the Electricity Authority's plants at Chinon * are in fact all graphite moderated reactors, like 01, 02 and 03 at Marcoule. Further nuclear power station projects have received approval or are already being studied, so that about ten reactors of the technology principally adopted in France should total about 4,500 installed Megawatts by 1975, when the nuclear Watt-hour will be capable of competing with the conventional Watt-hour. While work continues in this technology, the possibility of obtaining perhaps even better results with other systems is being explored. The use of heavy water as moderator instead of graphite makes for better use of fuel: profiting from the plutonium formed as the fuel is irradiated, natural uranium burn-ups three times higher than in graphite-moderated reactors can be achieved. Moreover, heavy water moderation increases specific power. Such improvements should reduce costs. But their real value can only be discovered by building and running a proto-type of adequate size, as compared with that of an eventual full-scale reactor. The problems involved in this particular technology will be studied at a suitable scale with EL 4, which is rated for 70 MW e. * EDF 1 (70 MW. diverged 1963), EDF 2 and EDF 3 (150 and 475 MW. being built). (EDF = Electricité de France).
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