Fessenheim nuclear power plant
Fessenheim nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in France with 2 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Fessenheim nuclear power plant 1 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CP0 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 920MW |
| Net capacity | 880MW |
| Thermal output | 2,785MWt |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Framatome |
| Owner | Electricité de France SA100% |
| Operator | Electricité de France |
| Construction start | 1 Sep 1971 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 7 Mar 1977 |
| Grid connection | 6 Apr 1977 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jan 1978 |
| Permanent shutdown | 22 Feb 2020 |
Fessenheim nuclear power plant 2 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CP0 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 920MW |
| Net capacity | 880MW |
| Thermal output | 2,785MWt |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Framatome |
| Owner | Electricité de France SA100% |
| Operator | Electricité de France |
| Construction start | 1 Feb 1972 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 27 Jun 1977 |
| Grid connection | 7 Oct 1977 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Apr 1978 |
| Permanent shutdown | 30 Jun 2020 |
Fessenheim nuclear power plant in context
The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 5.6 to 5.7 years (median 5.6) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1970s is 5.4 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Leibstadt nuclear power plant (57 km), Beznau nuclear power plant (63 km) and Goesgen nuclear power plant (67 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 1971 | 1977 | 5.6 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit 2 | 1972 | 1977 | 5.7 | 5.4 (1970s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leibstadt nuclear power plant | Switzerland | 57 km | 1.3 |
| Beznau nuclear power plant | Switzerland | 63 km | 0.8 |
| Goesgen nuclear power plant | Switzerland | 67 km | 1.1 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Grand-Est, France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 47.9032, 7.5609 |
| Elevation | about 205 mabove sea level |
| Setting | About 400 km from the sea |
| Region | Western Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 2 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Electricité de France SA |
|---|---|
| Operators | Electricité de France |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- 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