Operation
The Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB) is located in the Lower Aare Valley, not far from the confluence of the Aare and the Rhine. Beznau is located close to the major consumption centers in the Midlands. The power station stands on an island, formed by the course of the Aare and the canal for the Beznau hydroelectric power station. The Aare guarantees an adequate supply of cooling water, which means that there is no need for a cooling tower.
The nuclear power station comprises two largely identical facilities, unit 1 and unit 2, each with a net output of 365 megawatts (MW). Both of the facilities are base load power stations, i.e. they generate electricity at a constant output around the clock. They are in operation all year round, apart from two to four weeks every summer when the plants are shut down for their annual inspection and for the replacement of fuel elements.
Reactor
Both of the units in the Beznau nuclear power plant are equipped with Westinghouse pressurized-water reactors. The water that flows through the reactor core is under high pressure, preventing it from boiling, even though the temperature is 312 °C. In the two steam generators, the heat which is generated in the reactor is output to a second loop. The water in it, which is completely separated from the first loop, boils at lower pressure. The steam which is created is fed to the turbines, which drive the generators.
| Net electrical output: Unit 1: 365 MW / Unit 2: 365 MW | |
|---|---|
| 1 pressurized-water reactor | |
| Operating pressure Average primary water temperature Rotated primary water volume | 155 bar 300 ºC 2 x 3500 kg/s |
| Outer diameter of the reactor pressure vessel Height of the reactor pressure vessel Thickness of the sides of the reactor pressure vessel | 3.66 m 10.70 m 0.17 m |
| Weight of the fuel charge Annual fuel requirement Weight of a fuel assembly | 40 t Uran 8 t Uran 0.5 t |
| 2 steam generators | |
| Quantity of fresh steam Fresh steam pressure Fresh steam temperature | 2 x 300 kg/s 55 bar 260 ºC |
| 2 turbine generator groups | |
| Gross output of the turbines Voltage of the generators | 2 x 190 MW 15.5 KV |
| 2 feed water tanks | |
| Tank volumes Temperature of the feed water after preheating | 2 x 250 m3 210 ºC |
| 2 condensers | |
| Cooling water requirement max. Average cooling water heating Slope of the Aare Canal – natural Aare river bed | 2 x 10m3/s 12 ºC 5 m |
| Refuna district heating network | |
| Temperature of the distance heating water Transport network length Number of towns supplied Max. output | 120 ºC 130 km 11 80 MW |