Tihange nuclear power plant 3
Gross capacity
1,089MW
Tihange nuclear power plant 3 is a pressurised water reactor unit at Tihange nuclear power plant in Belgium rated at 1,089 MW gross. It is operating. Commercial operation began 1 Sep 1985.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | Westinghouse 3-loopWH 3LP in the source |
| Size | Largeabove 300 MWe |
| Coolant | Light water |
| Moderator | Light water |
| Gross capacity | 1,089MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 1,038MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 1,020MW |
| Thermal output | 3,000MWt |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Companyall vendors |
| Typical enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Tihange nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 3 |
| Country | Belgium |
| Owner | Engie Electrabel100% |
| Operator | Engie Electrabel |
| Coordinates | 50.5334, 5.2714 |
| Planned retirement | 2035planned, not actual |
Live status
Nord Pool UMM, declared availability
State
…
loading
Available capacity
…
Last 90 days, one cell per day
Declared: an outage or limit the operator has announced. No outage declared is not a confirmation that the unit is running.
See every unit outside the US.
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Uranium dioxide pellets in zirconium-alloy cladding
Enrichment
3–5% U-235
Who makes this assembly
- China National Nuclear Corporation PWR fuel assemblies
- ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas PWR and BWR fuel assemblies
- Framatome PWR fuel assemblies
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel PWR fuel assemblies
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries PWR fuel assemblies
- Westinghouse Electric Company PWR fuel assemblies
Supply position
Belgium runs 2 operating units on PWR (square-lattice) fuel. 6 fabricators are documented for it. No documented fabricator is based in Belgium. Country exposure
Upstream
Enriched fuel means this unit sits downstream of five conversion plants and four enrichment operators holding 88% of world capacity between the top three.
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utilities do not publish fuel contracts.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 Nov 1978Construction start
- 5 Jun 1985First criticality
- 15 Jun 1985Grid connection
- 1 Sep 1985Commercial operation
Other units at Tihange nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Tihange nuclear power plant 1 | Retired | 1,009 |
| Tihange nuclear power plant 2 | Retired | 1,055 |
Other WH 3LP units
12 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almaraz nuclear power plant 1 | Spain | 1,049 | |
| Almaraz nuclear power plant 2 | Spain | 1,044 | |
| Ascó nuclear power plant 1 | Spain | 1,033 | |
| Ascó nuclear power plant 2 | Spain | 1,027 | |
| Doel nuclear power plant 4 | Belgium | 1,090 | |
| Ringhals nuclear power plant 3 | Sweden | 1,117 | |
| Ringhals nuclear power plant 4 | Sweden | 1,171 | |
| Vandellos nuclear power plant 2 | Spain | 1,087 | |
| Doel nuclear power plant 3 | Belgium | Retired | 1,056 |
| Ringhals nuclear power plant 2 | Sweden | Retired | 963 |
| Tihange nuclear power plant 2 | Belgium | Retired | 1,055 |
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