Fessenheim power plant: “dismantling the machine room means removing the equivalent of an Eiffel Tower!”

From the shutdown of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant on June 30, 2020France Bleu Alsace went to see how the work was going to prepare for the dismantling of the oldest power station in France.

Dismantling of the engine room soon to be completed

Since August 2022, the nuclear fuel has been removed and 99% of the radioactivity. The most impressive thing right now is the dismantling of the machine room which was used to produce electricityThe construction site is nearing completion.

“6,000 tonnes of material were removed, the equivalent of an Eiffel Tower. We mainly dismantled turbines and alternators used to produce electricity. This building is empty once the ground is concreted, it will be used as a warehouse to store the nuclear packages that will arrive when dismantling is launched in 2026,” explains Laurent Jarry, director of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant.

80% of preparatory work for dismantling completed at the power plant

For the moment the schedule is respected, more than 80% of the preparatory work is completed The pure and simple dismantling will begin in 2 years, with the deconstruction of the nuclear part of the installations and complete cleanup of the site, for other uses from 2041.

EDF also has a technocentre project on the Fessenheim site a low-nuclear metal reclamation facility. The public debate will take place this fall with numerous meetings planned over several months.

With its two reactors, the Fessenheim plant produced two times 900 megawatts, which represented the equivalent of 80% of Alsace’s electricity needs according to the operator EDF.

Previously, 800 EDF employees worked on the site. There have been many fewer since the closure. Some have been transferred to other power stations. At the moment, there are only 400 people left, the majority of whom are subcontractors.