Vandellos nuclear power plant 1
Retired Spain
Gross capacity
500MW
Vandellos nuclear power plant 1 is a gas-cooled reactor unit at Vandellos nuclear power plant in Spain rated at 500 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 2 Aug 1972.
Specification
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | not disclosed |
| Size class | Large |
| Coolant | Carbon dioxide |
| Moderator | Graphite |
| Gross capacity | 500MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 480MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 480MW |
| Thermal output | 1,670MWt |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Vandellos nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | Spain |
| Owner | Hispano-Francesa De Energia Nuclear SA100% |
| Operator | Hispano-Francesa De Energia Nuclear |
| Coordinates | 40.9511, 0.8662 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Uranium metal (Magnox) or uranium dioxide (AGR)
Enrichment
Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235 no enrichment required
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
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utilities do not publish fuel contracts.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
- 21 Jun 1968Construction start
- 11 Feb 1972First criticality
- 6 May 1972Grid connection
- 2 Aug 1972Commercial operation
- 31 Jul 1990Permanent shutdown
Other units at Vandellos nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Vandellos nuclear power plant 2 | 1,087 |
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 2024-05-23
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) — CC BY-SA 4.0 — linked, not quoted