Old Nuclear

New guidelines which campaigners say could benefit communities around nuclear sites have been boycotted by a UK Government nuclear agency. Internal documents seen by The Ferret reveal that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has rejected proposed reforms because they had caused “a great deal of bad feeling”. Guidelines aimed at making local meetings about safety at nuclear sites across the UK more transparent, accountable and representative were put forward in a nuclear industry report. The report condemned liaison groups at some sites for “poor practice” and for having “no accountability”. The nuclear industry must shed its reputation for being “secretive” by being “open and honest”, it said. Campaigners criticised the NDA for trying to block the guidelines, which had “much to commend them”. At many nuclear site meetings dissenting voices were absent or marginalised, they said. But the NDA, which supports more than half of nuclear site stakeholder groups, defended their independence. Local communities should decide how to run their meetings, not the nuclear industry, it said.

The Ferret 23rd Jan 2022 read more »

The National 23rd Jan 2022 read more »

East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill calls for UK government support when Torness power station shuts down. The UK government has come under fire after indicating there will be no special help for East Lothian when Torness nuclear power station stops operating in 2028. Torness nuclear power station directly employs about 500 staff and 250 contractors. But when East Lothian Alba MP Kenny MacAskill asked UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng what support and resources were provided to councils in areas where a nuclear power station was to close, he was told no specific additional support or resource was to be made available. The answer, from junior minister Greg Hands, said: “The first phase of closure is defueling, and this takes several years with continued use of EDF’s uniquely experienced teams, and specialist supply chain companies, preserving jobs in a local community. “Following the defueling phase, each station will transfer to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to deliver the subsequent decommissioning activity. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a duty to ensure that decommissioning activities benefit local communities and provide a beneficial legacy once decommissioning work is completed.”

Edinburgh Evening News 20th Jan 2022 read more »

Damian Collins MP: In Kent we have been well-served by Dungeness A and B; we know that nuclear power is a proven technology that produces safe, continuous, reliable, low carbon energy whilst providing high skilled jobs that positively contribute to the local economy. That is why I backed the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill in the House of Commons. This ground-breaking legislation paves the way for a new generation of nuclear power financed by a wider pool of private investors and institutions; reducing the country’s reliance on foreign finance and enabling us to get on with delivering new nuclear projects. This new model of finance presents exciting opportunities for the future of sites such as Dungeness. I have taken a keen interest in the potential of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and will soon be meeting with Rolls Royce to learn about their ambitions in greater detail.

In Your Area 21s t Jan 2022 read more »

FIRST MINISTER Nicola Sturgeon has been pressed by North Ayrshire politicians to form a task force to oversee the proposed development of Hunterston power station. West Scotland Labour MSP Katy Clark and North Ayrshire SNP MP Patricia Gibson are calling on the First Minister to think about the future transition of the now closed nuclear site. Hunterston B Nuclear Station shut down for good this month after 46 years of service. The adjacent land is owned by Peel Ports, and is earmarked for major renewables and energy infrastructure projects.

Ardrossan Herald 20th Jan 2022 read more »

EDF Energy has confirmed a change to the expected end of generation dates for two of its UK nuclear units – Heysham 2, in Lancashire, and Torness, in East Lothian (Scotland). They are now expected to continue generating until 31 March 2028. In 2016, the sites’ operational lives were extended by seven years to 2030. Operational dates are under constant review and EDF said that, since then, inspection, modelling and operational experience from other sites, have given a clearer picture of lifetime expectations for the Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR) fleet as the stations age. This revision will help with planning and certainty for staff and stakeholders. At the same time it was confirmed that the expected end of generation date for Heysham 1 and Hartlepool will remain 31 March 2024. “All of these dates will depend on a range of factors including future inspections,” EDF noted.

Nuclear Engineering International 13th January 2022 read more »

So farewell, Hunterston B, the nuclear power plant on the Firth of Clyde that shut last week after 46 years’ service. It will be followed this summer by Hinkley Point B in Somerset and in 2024 by Hartlepool and Heysham, leaving the UK with just four nuclear stations boasting five gigawatts of generating capacity between them — when they’re not suffering extended ‘outages’ for maintenance and repair. That compares with 15 stations and 13 gigawatts, meeting a quarter of UK electricity demand, at the UK’s mid-1990s nuclear peak. Meanwhile, the 3.2 gigawatt Hinkley Point C, developed by EDF of France and due on stream in 2026, ‘may be delayed after defects were found in a similar reactor in China’, reported New Civil Engineer last month — and Sizewell C in Suffolk, also EDF’s, awaits a government green light. Both projects have Chinese money behind them; but as for the all-Chinese reactor planned to follow at Bradwell in Essex, my bet is it will never happen. And ‘small modular reactors’, capable of powering a million homes each, that Rolls-Royce and others are developing? Probably a decade away.

Spectator 15th Jan 2022 read more »

Local councillors and businesses in Morecambe have given mixed reactions to news that a nearby nuclear power station is set to stop generating electricity two years earlier than expected. The site of The Heysham 2 nuclear power station near Morecambe will stop generating power in 2028, it was revealed earlier this week. In 2016, operational life was extended by seven years up to 2030 as no new power station projects were in the pipeline and nuclear is needed to maintain a steady base load for the electricity grid. After 2028, it will move into defuelling and decommissioning. Station director Mark Lees said: “Investment in the plant means Heysham 2 is already operating beyond its expected 25-30 year generating life and is one of the most productive of EDF’s fleet of nuclear power stations. Since it first started making electricity in 1988, it has produced more than 280 terawatt hours of safe, reliable zero-carbon electricity. Heysham 1 will stop generating power in 2024. local councillors said the impact of the changes on the local economy was as yet unclear. Luke Trevaskis, chief executive officer of Morecambe Town Council, told LancsLive that it was unclear how the changes would affect the local economy but that it was anticipated a viable proposition would be brought forward to ensure the sustainability of the prime employment land in the future. He said: “Heysham is the only site in the UK to have two operating nuclear power stations. It will take time to decommission both sites, and there will be a continued need for skilled people to undertake this work. Because this process takes a number of years, at this stage it is unclear how the closures will impact the local economy. “It is understood discussions are ongoing about what could occupy the site after the decommission is complete, and it is anticipated a viable proposition will be brought forward to ensure the sustainability of this prime employment land in the future.”

Lancashire Live 13th Jan 2022 read more »

LARGS and Cumbrae residents have been sharing their memories of Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station after it was switched off for the final time. The station stopped generating electricity at midday on Friday and marked the occasion with a blast of steam from the reactor. Crowds of onlookers gathered within view of reactor number four as it was halted after 46 years. Residents in surrounding towns and villages have been recalling their memories of the station over the past five decades.

Largs & Millport News 13th Jan 2022 read more »

EDF case for continued AGR reactor operations ‘cracking up’, says NFLA. The early closure of the final reactor at Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station last Friday (7 January) signalled yet another step towards the long-overdue demise of the outdated Advanced Gas Cooled (AGRs) reactors operated by EDF Energy, a subsidiary of French state owned EdF (Électricité de France), across the UK. After being shut down for much of 2019, EDF hoped to continue operations at Hunterston B until 2023 but increasing instances of cracks in the graphite cores of the reactor brought forward closure plans by a year. The problem of cracks in the graphite cores which compromises safety has long been an issue of concern to the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA). Councillor Blackburn said “The AGRs have already had a good run operating way beyond their intended 30-year lifecycle, but the fact is that as the reactors age so does the integrity of their graphite cores which moderate the nuclear reaction. Although EDF plans to close the last AGR in 2028, this is way too long and the timescale for closure needs to be brought forward in the interests of plant and public safety.

NFLA 12th Jan 2022 read more »

The Unit B2 (Reactor 4) of the Hunterston NPP in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was permanently shut down on 7 January after generating electricity for 46 years. Hunterston B1 (Reactor 3) had been closed in November 2021. In 2012, plant owner EDF Energy extended the plant’s original 25-year lifespan by more than 20 years to 2023, with a two-year window either side of that date. Both 490MWe advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) units were taken offline in 2018 after cracks in their graphite cores were identified during routine inspections. In August 2020, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) approved the restart of B2 in August 2020 followed by B1 in September 2020. The Hunterston A plant, which is already closed, comprised two 180MWe Magnox reactors which began operation in 1964. Reactor 2 shut down in December 1989 and Reactor 1 in March 1990. Construction of Hunterston B began in 1968 and reactors 3 and 4 began operating in February 1976 and March 1977. The site will now begin a three-year process of removing the used fuel, which will be sent to Sellafield for reprocessing. The site will then be transferred to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority so that its Magnox subsidiary can continue with the dismantling. During defuelling, 125 of the 480 employees will either retire or be redeployed to other sites. Station director Paul Forrest said: “It was originally thought Hunterston B would run for 25 years but investment in the plant and the people who work here mean we’ve been able to safely extend that to 46 years.” The cracks were first identified in two graphite bricks in reactor 4 in 2014. By 2018, a total of 350 bricks had been affected although ONR subsequently gave permission to continue operation at much greater numbers. Each reactor core comprises 3000 bricks which form vertical channels for nuclear fuel and control rods to slide in and out. There was concern that too many cracks, combined with a rare seismic event, could affect the structural integrity of the core and prevent it being shut down in an emergency.

Nuclear Engineering International 10th Jan 2022 read more »

Time to embrace the nuclear option: Coal’s too dirty, gas too costly, wind and solar too unreliable. So why, asks ROSS CLARK, aren’t we building more low-carbon atomic energy plants instead of closing them? A final 40-second rapid release of steam into the cold January air — and then the Hunterston B nuclear power station quietly stopped feeding electricity into the national grid after 46 years. With the closure of the vast edifice on the Firth of Clyde last week, Britain instantly lost more than two per cent of its electrical generating capacity. While Hunterston’s passing went largely unnoticed, the truth is it could not have come at a worse time. Gas prices are being forced up worldwide due to an imbalance of supply and demand as the global economy recovers from the Covid pandemic. At the same time, Britain has experienced months of winds that have been lighter than usual — playing havoc with the wind farms on which we are becoming increasingly reliant for our power.

Daily Mail 10th Jan 2022 read more »

‘Torness 2 key to fuel poverty problem’: In your front page story last week about Torness Power Station closing two years earlier than planned, the Scottish Government spokesperson and Dr Dixon of Friends of the Earth seem to agree that “Scotland is well on its way to getting all of our power from renewables”. This assertion could not be further from reality.

East Lothian Courier 10th Jan 2022 read more »