FRANCE Construction for the Cattenom plant began in 1979 in Cattenom , France . Consisting of four pressurised water reactors ( PWRs ), each with a power output of 1,300MW , the site uses water from the Moselle River in combination with four cooling towers . Additionally , an artificial lake was created in Pierre-Percée to provide a greater supply of coolant . Two of the plant ’ s units were successfully commissioned in 1986 and 1987 , with the third and fourth becoming operational in 1990 and 1991 respectively . The plant employs 1,200 full-time workers and supplements a further 1,000 during outages - periods where the reactors are powered down and maintenance is performed .