Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station

Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
The Gentilly-2 (left) and Gentilly-1 (right)
nuclear generating stations
Map
Official nameCentrale nucléaire de Gentilly
CountryCanada
LocationBécancour, Quebec
Coordinates46°23′45″N 72°21′25″W / 46.39583°N 72.35694°W / 46.39583; -72.35694
Statussafe storage (pools)
pending dismantling
Construction began1973
Commission dateOctober 1, 1983 (October 1, 1983)
Decommission dateDecember 28, 2012 (December 28, 2012)
Construction costCAD 1.3 billion
OwnerHydro-Québec
OperatorHydro-Québec
Nuclear power station
Reactor typeCANDU-BWR
CANDU PHWR
Reactor supplierAtomic Energy of Canada Limited
Power generation
Units operationalNone
Units cancelled1 × 640 MW
Units decommissioned1 × 250 MW
1 × 675 MW
Nameplate capacity925 MW
Capacity factor76.4%
Annual net output3,491 GW·h
External links
WebsiteHydro-Québec: Gentilly-2
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station (Centrale nucléaire de Gentilly in French) is a former nuclear power station located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Bécancour, Quebec, 100 km north east of Montreal. The site contained two nuclear reactors; Gentilly-1, a 250 MW CANDU-BWR prototype, was marred by technical problems and shut down in 1977, and Gentilly-2, a 675-MW CANDU-6 reactor operated commercially by the government-owned public utility Hydro-Québec between 1983 and 2012. These were the only power generating nuclear reactors in Quebec.[note 1]

The Gentilly reactors were constructed in stages between 1966 and 1983 and were originally part of a plan for 30-35 nuclear reactors in Quebec.[1][2] A third reactor, Gentilly-3, was scheduled to be built on the same site but was cancelled because of a drop in demand growth in the late 1970s.[3]

In October 2012, it was decided for economic reasons not to proceed with the refurbishment of Gentilly-2, and to decommission the power plant instead. The process will take approximately 50 years to complete.[4] In December of that same year, the remaining reactor was shut down and the decommissioning process started.[5]

In August 2023, Hydro-Québec reported it was assessing the state of the plant to determine whether or not the Gentilly-2 CANDU reactor could be recommissioned. This came as the province of Quebec looked towards options to increase its production of clean electricity.[6] It was decided to not proceed with recommissioning Gentilly-2 due to social acceptability issues.[7]


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  1. ^ "Minister wants referendum on nuclear power plants". Calgary Herald. Canadian Press. 10 February 1977. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  2. ^ Marie-Claude Fafard (15 September 2010). "Québec : le dangereux retour de l'énergie nucléaire ?". Afrique Expansion Magazine (in French). Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  3. ^ Baril, Hélène (October 3, 2012). "Libéraux et péquistes, promoteurs du nucléaire au Québec". La Presse (in French). Montreal. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  4. ^ Lapresse.ca. "Pauline Marois ferme Gentilly-2" (in French). Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  5. ^ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (December 28, 2012). "Gentilly-2 nuclear plant shuts down after 29 years". CBC.ca. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  6. ^ "Hydro-Québec mulls Gentilly 2 recommissioning : Corporate - World Nuclear News".
  7. ^ "Hydro-Québec to keep studying nuclear energy: CEO".