The Flamanville EPR had undergone an “automatic” shutdown on Wednesday, the day after its launch. It was able to be put back into operation this Saturday, according to EDF.
The nuclear reaction has resumed in the Flamanville EPR in the Manche department, EDF announced on Saturday 7 September. The reactor had automatically shut down on Wednesday, the day after its very first start-up.
Following the incident, EDF teams carried out technical checks and analyses. “The event is linked to poor configuration of the installation during tests carried out after the divergence, which generated alarms and triggered the automatic order to shut down the reactor,” EDF detailed on Saturday.
“The situation is not linked to a material problem with the installation, nor to the control of the nuclear reaction,” assures EDF.
The nuclear safety authority (ASN) explained to AFP that the shutdown was the result of a “human error” in the configuration of electronic systems, the operating procedure having “not been strictly respected”.
The checks appear to have been conclusive since activity has been able to resume. “The Flamanville 3 reactor has diverged and stabilized at 0.2% power since 08:21,” a spokesperson for the group told AFP. “Divergence” is the technical term for nuclear reaction.
“The teams are resuming the activities and tests necessary to prepare for the coupling,” that is, the connection to the electricity network, “which will take place by the end of autumn,” he added.
“Starting up is a long and complex process”
The EPR, the subject of a construction site with many setbacks, had reached an important milestone on Tuesday with the achievement of the first nuclear fission. But several stages are still planned before it can really supply the network with electricity, with potential technical hazards.
The start-up of this new-generation nuclear reactor is 12 years behind schedule due to numerous technical setbacks which have caused the bill to explode, now estimated at 13.2 billion euros by EDF, four times the initial estimate of 3.3 billion.
“Starting up is a long and complex process (which) requires numerous trials and tests, and this can lead to shutdowns of this type,” a spokesperson for the EDF group told AFP on Wednesday evening.
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