EPR

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EPR was originally an acronym for "European Pressurised Reactor", a Generation III design based on France's existing 1970s-era reactor designs. Construction of the first two units was started at Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France. As the designers sought world-wide markets the design got renamed "Evolutionary Power Reactor", and two reactors were started at Taishan, in China. Construction of two more reactors has started, after much controversy, at Hinkley Point C in Britain.

The Finnish and French reactor builds have been plagued by huge time and cost overruns and the two reactors being built in China, despite being started later and also suffering delays, have already been completed and brought online.

See also the Wikipedia article on the EPR
and Hinkley Point C

Taishan, China

First Taishan EPR completes cold tests World Nuclear News; 1 Feb 2016

Cold function tests have been completed at unit 1 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province. The unit is expected to start up in the first half of next year and will be the first EPR reactor to begin operating.

China revises commissioning dates of EPRs World Nuclear News; 22 Feb 2017

The two EPR units under construction at the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province will not enter commercial operation until the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018, respectively. This is some six months later than originally scheduled.

First criticality achieved at Chinese EPR World Nuclear News; 07 Jun 2018

Unit 1 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province has attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time, becoming the first EPR reactor to reach the commissioning milestone. The unit is expected to enter commercial operation later this year.

Taishan 1, world’s first EPR connected to the grid EDF; 29 Jun 2018

On the 29th of June at 17:59 local time, Taishan 1 reactor located in China became the first EPR* reactor in the world to be successfully connected to the grid.

China launches world's first EPR nuclear project in Taishan Reuters; 14 Dec 2018

BEIJING (Reuters) - The world’s first third-generation “Evolutionary Power Reactor” (EPR) has gone into operation at Taishan in China’s Guangdong province, the French and Chinese developers behind the project announced on Friday.

The 1,750-megawatt EPR, formerly known as the “European Pressurised Reactor” and designed by France’s Areva, completed a 168-hour trial run on Thursday evening, said state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN).

Its commercial launch can be “a source of inspiration” for other next-generation reactors, Guo Limin, general manager of the Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company, said at a press briefing in Beijing.

The technology is also being deployed in France, Finland and the China-invested Hinkley Point C project in Britain. It was connected to China’s power grid on a trial basis for the first time in June.

The Taishan nuclear project is 70 percent-owned by CGN, with Electricite de France (EDF) controlling the rest. Areva, designer of the new reactor, is now known as Framatome, which is owned 75.5 percent by EDF.

Construction on two EPR units began at Taishan in 2009 with the first originally scheduled to be completed in 2013, but the design has been beset by a series of technical hitches and big cost overruns in China and elsewhere.

Taishan’s second unit is expected to go into full operation in the fourth quarter of 2019. Guo said construction was still ongoing and remained within the expected timeframe.

First EPR enters commercial operation World Nuclear News; 14 Dec 2018

Unit 1 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province has completed all commissioning work and is qualified for commercial operation, China General Nuclear (CGN) announced yesterday. It becomes the first EPR reactor to reach the milestone.

Taishan 1 completed a full-power continuous demonstration test run of 168 hours yesterday, CGN announced in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Although CGN must still obtain necessary permits and documentation, the unit is now considered to be in commercial operation.

"The successful outcome of this test marks the achievement of all prerequisite conditions for the reactor's safe operation," CGN and EDF said in a joint press release today.

Taishan 1 and 2 are the first two reactors based on the EPR design to be built in China. They form part of an EUR8 billion (USD9 billion) contract signed by Areva and CGN in November 2007. The Taishan project - 140 kilometres west of Hong Kong - is owned by the Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited, a joint venture between EDF (30%) and CGN. Unit 1 of the power plant started construction in 2009, followed by unit 2 in 2010. These two units are the third and fourth EPR units under construction globally, after the Olkiluoto 3 project in Finland and the Flamanville 3 project in France. The EPR design adopted in Taishan was developed by Framatome.

CGN began loading fuel assemblies into Unit 1's core on 10 April following the issuance that day of a permit from the NNSA. The reactor achieved first criticality on 6 June and was connected to the grid on 29 June. Taishan 2 - which is in the equipment installation phase - is scheduled to begin operating next year.

EDF’s Flagship EPR Enters Revenue Service in Taishan Neutronbytes; 16 Dec 2018

The first Areva/EDF European Pressurized reactor (EPR), a 1650MW commercial plant, is now in revenue service in Taishan, China, located about 136Km west of Hong Kong.

Power was sent to the grid this week following extensive testing. World Nuclear News reported that Taishan 1 completed a full-power continuous demonstration test run of 168 hours.

Second Chinese EPR achieves criticality World Nuclear News; 29 May 2019

Unit 2 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province has attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time, becoming the second EPR reactor to reach the commissioning milestone after Taishan 1.

Taishan 1 and 2 are the first two reactors based on the EPR design to be built in China. They form part of an EUR8 billion (USD9 billion) contract signed by Areva and China General Nuclear (CGN) in November 2007. The Taishan project - 140 kilometres west of Hong Kong - is owned by the Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited, a joint venture between EDF (30%) and CGN.

Construction of unit 1 of the Taishan plant started in 2009, followed by that of unit 2 in 2010. These two units are the third and fourth EPR units under construction globally, after the Olkiluoto 3 project in Finland and the Flamanville 3 project in France. The EPR design adopted in Taishan was developed by Framatome. Two EPR units are also under construction at the Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, UK.

Taishan 1 achieved first criticality on 6 June last year and was connected to the grid on 29 June. It was declared to be in commercial operation on 13 December.

The loading of fuel into the core of unit 2 began earlier this month. The unit is expected to enter commercial operation by the end of this year.

Fuel is expected to be loaded into the first-of-a-kind EPR at Olkiluoto next month, with grid connection to take place in October, and the start of regular electricity generation scheduled for January 2020.

The loading of fuel into the core of the Flamanville EPR in France is expected towards the end of this year.