Gentilly nuclear power plant 1
Gross capacity
266MW
Gentilly nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Gentilly nuclear power plant in Canada rated at 266 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 1 May 1972.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | HW BLWR 250 |
| Size | Small300 MWe or less |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 266MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 250MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 250MW |
| Thermal output | 792MWt |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Gentilly nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | Canada |
| Owner | Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd100% |
| Operator | Hydro Quebec |
| Coordinates | 46.3953, -72.3579 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 1 Sep 1966Construction start
- 12 Nov 1970First criticality
- 5 Apr 1971Grid connection
- 1 May 1972Commercial operation
- 1 Jun 1977Permanent shutdown
Other units at Gentilly nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Gentilly nuclear power plant 2 | Retired | 675 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-08
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data