Unit II of the Almaraz Power Plant begins a refueling to which 1,100 workers join

MERIDA, Sep. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) -

Unit II of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant has been disconnected from the electricity grid at 00:00 hours this Monday, September 26, to start the work corresponding to its 27th refueling.

This shutdown will last approximately 40 days and to carry out the scheduled activities, more than 1,100 additional workers have been incorporated into the usual workforce of some 70 specialized collaborating companies, most of these professionals come from the Almaraz environment, according to the headquarters itself in press release.

In this way, in this process a third of the fuel elements that make up the core of the reactor will be replaced and more than 13,000 inspection, maintenance and improvement activities will be carried out on the installation.

These activities include the eddy current inspection of the three steam generators, the ultrasound inspection of the nozzles and penetrations of the bottom of the vessel, and the visual inspection of the lower interior of the vessel.

Likewise, the replacement of the motor of the main cooling pump No. 2, the maintenance of diesel generators 2 and 5, the revision of the main feed water turbopump B (FW) and the auxiliary feed water motor pump A (AF ). The implementation of 22 design modifications is also planned, including those linked to requirements and commitments with the Nuclear Safety Council.

It should be noted that the gross production generated between the two units of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant at the end of 2021 was 15,837 gigawatt hours (GWh) and the joint net production reached 15,222 GWh. The gross electrical energy production corresponding to Unit I was 8,008 GWh and that corresponding to Unit II was 7,828 GWh.

The 2021 financial year closed with the best accumulated historical data of 865 days and more than 5.7 million hours worked without accidents with sick leave.