Cordemais Power Station Explained

Cordemais Power Station
Coordinates:47.28°N -1.88°W
Country:France
Location:Cordemais
Status:O
Operator:Électricité de France
Th Fuel Primary:coal
Ps Units Operational:2
Ps Units Decommissioned:3
Ps Electrical Capacity:1,200 MW
Ps Annual Generation:4.28 TWh (2017)

The Cordemais Power Station is a thermal power station in France. It has two coal-fired units with a capacity of 600 MW each. It previously had three oil-fired units; a 585 MW generating unit that was decommissioned in 1996 and two 700 MW generating unit decommissioned in 2017 and 2018 [1]

The station is in the western part of France at Cordemais in the department of Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire. With an annual electricity production of 4.28 TWh in 2017 it represents 25% of the country's thermal electricity production from fossil fuels.[1] It is an important source of electricity supply for Brittany.

It has four chimneys, two of which at 220m (720feet), are some of the tallest structures in France.[2] It is fully owned by the French energy giant Électricité de France.

The station consumes between 1.3 and 2 million tonnes of coal per year. The coal, imported from South Africa, Poland, the United States and Australia, arrives at port facilities at Montoir-de-Bretagne and is conveyed to the power station by barge.

History

The Cordemais power station was commissioned in 1970 with a single oil-fired generating unit with a nameplate capacity of 585 MW. It was extended in 1976 with another two oil-fired units of 700 MW each, and in 1983 with one coal-fired unit of 600 MW. Its last expansion, another 600 MW coal-fired unit, was added in 1984. The station then functioned at a capacity of 3,185 MW until 1996, when the 1970s-built unit was decommissioned. In 2017 then in 2018, the other two oil-fired groups were decommissioned, resulting in its current capacity of 1,200 MW.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: La centrale thermique de Cordemais. edf.fr. 11 January 2019.
  2. Web site: Top 10 Tallest Structures of France. frenchmoments.eu. 4 January 2014.