WNN reports that construction work began in December 2007 on the 1,650 MWe unit at the Flamanville site in Normandy (France) – where two reactors have been operating since 1986 and 1987. The dome of the reactor building was put in place in July 2013 and the reactor vessel was installed in January 2014. The reactor was originally expected to start commercial operation in 2013, but owing to delays this is now expected in late 2018.
The French nuclear regulator, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), provisionally ruled in June that the unit could start up safely next year, but that the head of its reactor pressure vessel (RPV) would need to be replaced by the end of 2024. Areva NP revealed its discovery of an anomaly in the composition of the steel in certain zones of the RPV's closure head and bottom head in April 2015. The engineering group started a test program to demonstrate that the mechanical strength of the steel is sufficient in all operating situations. Its conclusions were sent to ASN in December last year.
ASN's approval of the start of operations at Flamanville 3 is a European Commission precondition for approving EDF's planned takeover of Areva's reactor business.
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