Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station (''Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly'' in French) is a former
nuclear power station A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ele ...
located on the south shore of the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
in Bécancour, Quebec, 100 km north east of
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. The site contained two
nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...
s; Gentilly-1, a 250 MW CANDU-BWR prototype, was marred by technical problems and shut down in 1977, and Gentilly-2, a 675-MW CANDU-6 reactor operated commercially by the
government-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
public utility A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
Hydro-Québec between 1983 and 2012. These were the only power generating nuclear reactors in Quebec.There is also a SLOWPOKE research reactor at Montreal's
École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
.
The Gentilly reactors were constructed in stages between 1966 and 1983 and were originally part of a plan for 30-35 nuclear reactors in Quebec. A third reactor, Gentilly-3, was scheduled to be built on the same site but was cancelled because of a drop in demand growth in the late 1970s. In October 2012, it was decided for economic reasons not to proceed with the refurbishment of Gentilly-2, and to decommission the power plant instead. The process will take approximately 50 years to complete. In December of that same year, the remaining reactor was shut down and the decommissioning process started.


Gentilly-1

Gentilly-1 was a prototype CANDU- BWR reactor, based on the SGHWR design. It was designed for a net output of 250MW(e). The reactor had several features unique amongst CANDU reactors, including vertically oriented pressure tubes (allowing for the use of a single fuelling machine below the core), and light-water coolant. These features were intended to reduce the cost and complexity of the unit, again to make it an attractive export unit. However, the design was not successful, and over 7 years recorded only 180 on-power days. Gentilly-1 is no longer in operation.


Gentilly-2

Gentilly-2 is a standard CANDU 6 reactor, similar to the
Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power station located 2 km northeast of Point Lepreau, New Brunswick, Canada. The facility was constructed between 1975 and 1983 by NB Power, the provincially owned public utility. ...
. The plant has a net output of 675MW(e). Unlike the adjacent Gentilly-1 reactor, Gentilly-2 has had a good service record since start-up in 1982, with a cumulative operating factor of 76.4%. In an August 19, 2008 announcement, Québec planned to spend $1.9B to overhaul Gentilly-2 in order to extend its lifespan to 2040. Refurbishment of the reactor was eventually cancelled when on 3 October 2012, Hydro-Quebec's CEO, Thierry Vandal, announced the decommissioning of the Gentilly-2 generating station for economic reasons, scheduled to occur on 28 December 2012 at 10:30 p.m. At that time, a
decommissioning Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from an active status, and may refer to: Infrastructure * Decommissioned offshore * Decommissioned highway * Greenfield status of former industrial sites * Nuclear decommi ...
process will proceed over a period of 50 years and is expected to cost $1.8 billion. The permanent shut down and decommissioning of the power plant followed an election pledge from Quebec premier,
Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ ...
. The Gentilly site also houses a 411MW
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
generation plant. The Bécancour generating station was commissioned in 1992-1993.


Gentilly-3

Gentilly-3 was a proposed nuclear reactor at the Gentilly site. It was cancelled by Quebec Premier
René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
. A white book study published by the
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
(PQ) before ascending to power found that Gentilly-3 was not needed for Quebec's future energy needs and that it could be fulfilled with
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
. After the election of the PQ government, a moratorium on construction of nuclear plants was put into place. The reactor had been scheduled to be completed before 1990, and was the last reactor firmly committed to by Hydro-Québec and the Province of Quebec, though Quebec had committed to buy enough heavy water for four Candu style reactors, processed by the La Prade heavy water plant (near
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...
), scheduled for 1982 opening.


See also

*
Economy of Quebec The economy of Quebec is diversified and post-industrial with an average potential for growth. Manufacturing and service sectors dominate the economy. If Quebec were a country, its economy would be ranked the 33rd largest in the world just be ...
*
List of electrical generating stations in Quebec The following page lists electrical generating stations in Quebec, Canada. Quebec produces close to 96% of its electricity through hydropower. The James Bay Project is Quebec's largest generation complex, with an installed capacity of 16,527 mega ...
*
List of power stations in Canada Canada is home to a wide variety of power stations (or generating stations). The lists below outline power stations of significance by type, or by the province/territory in which they reside. By type The following pages lists the power stations ...


References

;Notes ;References


External links


Hydro-Québec Gentilly-2 page
{{Authority control Nuclear power stations in Quebec Hydro-Québec Nuclear power stations using CANDU reactors Buildings and structures in Centre-du-Québec Former power stations in Canada