goingcritical:gentilly-1Canada · Power reactor
Gentilly 1
Status: Shut down reached first criticality November 12, 1970 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: Becancour, Quebec
Early CANDU prototype using a vertical pressure-tube boiling-light-water design; troubled operation, only ~180 on-power days, permanently shut down 1 June 1977
Details
| Design | CANDU-BWR prototype (heavy-water moderated, boiling light-water cooled; HW BLWR 250) |
| Electrical output | 250 MWe |
Milestone history
- Announced —
- Construction start September 1, 1966
- Fuel load —
- First criticality November 12, 1970
- Grid connection April 5, 1971
- Commercial operation May 1, 1972