goingcritical:caorsoItaly · Power reactor
Caorso
Status: Shut down reached first criticality December 31, 1977 Reactor status full glossary → Announced Publicly announced — a site and design are proposed, but construction has not begun. Site preparation Early site and civil works are under way; the first safety-related ("nuclear") concrete has not yet been poured. Under construction Formal construction has begun, marked by the first nuclear concrete. Fuel loaded Nuclear fuel has been loaded into the core. The reactor is fuelled but has not yet gone critical. Critical Has reached first criticality — a self-sustaining chain reaction, usually at low power — but is not yet connected to the grid. Grid connected Synchronised to the electrical grid and exporting power for the first time, but still in commissioning and power-ascension testing — not yet in commercial service. In commercial operation — the operator has formally declared the unit in regular commercial service. Shut down Permanently shut down and no longer generating; may be defuelled, undergoing decommissioning, or preserved in place. Canceled Abandoned before completion.
Site: Caorso, Emilia-Romagna
Italy's largest nuclear reactor, a General Electric BWR-4 with Mark II containment. Reached first criticality on 31 December 1977. Operations were suspended after the 1987 Italian nuclear referendum and it was permanently shut down on 1 July 1990; now under SOGIN decommissioning.
Details
| Design | General Electric BWR-4 (Mark II containment) |
| Electrical output | 860 MWe |
Milestone history
- Announced —
- Construction start January 1, 1970
- Fuel load —
- First criticality December 31, 1977
- Grid connection May 23, 1978
- Commercial operation December 1, 1981