Point Lepreau nuclear power plant 1
Gross capacity
705MW
Point Lepreau nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Point Lepreau nuclear power plant in Canada rated at 705 MW gross. It is operating. Commercial operation began 1 Feb 1983.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 6 |
| Size | Largeabove 300 MWe |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 705MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 660MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 660MW |
| Thermal output | 2,180MWt |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy)all vendors |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Point Lepreau nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | Canada |
| Owner | New Brunswick Electric Power Commission100% |
| Operator | New Brunswick Electric Power Commission |
| Coordinates | 45.0686, -66.4543 |
| Planned retirement | 2040planned, not actual |
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utilities do not publish fuel contracts.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 May 1975Construction start
- 25 Jul 1982First criticality
- 11 Sep 1982Grid connection
- 1 Feb 1983Commercial operation
Other units at Point Lepreau nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Point Lepreau nuclear power plant 2 | Cancelled | 1,100 |
| Point Lepreau nuclear power plant SMR 1 | Pre-construction | 100 |
| Point Lepreau nuclear power plant SMR 2 | Announced | 300 |
Other CANDU 6 units
14 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cernavodă nuclear power plant 1 | Romania | 706 | |
| Cernavodă nuclear power plant 2 | Romania | 705 | |
| Embalse nuclear power plant | Argentina | 656 | |
| Qinshan nuclear power plant 3-1 | China | 728 | |
| Qinshan nuclear power plant 3-2 | China | 728 | |
| Wolsong nuclear power plant 2 | South Korea | 599 | |
| Wolsong nuclear power plant 3 | South Korea | 624 | |
| Wolsong nuclear power plant 4 | South Korea | 589 | |
| Cernavodă nuclear power plant 3 | Romania | Pre-construction | 720 |
| Cernavodă nuclear power plant 4 | Romania | Pre-construction | 720 |
| Cernavodă nuclear power plant 5 | Romania | Cancelled | 706 |
| Gentilly nuclear power plant 2 | Canada | 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 2025-07-03
- 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