Company also looking at running Sizewell B for 20 years longer than scheduled
EDF Energy is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and invest £1.3bn (€1.5bn, $1.6bn) in its nuclear fleet as it aims to maintain UK nuclear output at current levels until at least 2026.
The French energy company said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) stations – Torness, Heysham A and B, and Hartlepool A – by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval.
Between them the four stations have eight units in operation – two at Torness, two each at Heysham A and Heysham B and two at Hartlepool. According to International Atomic Energy data, the eight units have a combined net generating capacity of 4,685MW.
A spokesperson for the company said operating extension plans would depend on inspections, adding there would not be long lifetime extensions but “incremental”.
Last March, EDF said it was extending lifetimes at Hartlepool A and Heysham A by a further two years to March 2026. Heysham B and Torness power stations are now due to stay operational until March 2028.
The company is also looking into running its single-unit Sizewell B station for 20 years longer than scheduled, until 2055. It is the UK’s only pressurised water reactor plant and according to the IAEA has a capacity of 1,198 MW. A final decision will be taken next year.
EDF said it would invest a further £1.3bn in its whole UK nuclear fleet, which employs 5,000 people, between 2024 and 2026, taking the total invested to nearly £9bn since 2009. It plans to hire more than 1,000 people at its UK nuclear operations this year.
EDF Energy operates all of Britain’s five nuclear power stations that generate electricity. A further three are defuelling (Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B), the first stage of decommissioning.
Fleet Hit By Closures And Outages
The output of EDF’s UK nuclear fleet was 37.3 TWh last year, 15% lower than the year before because of station closures and statutory outages.
In recent years the UK has generated about 15% of its power from its fleet of commercial nuclear power plants. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UK’s nuclear share in 2022was 14.2%.
Since 2000, the UK has seen permanent reactor shutdowns at Bradwell, Calder Hall, Hinkley Point A, Hinkley Point B, Hunterston, Oldbury, Sizewell, Chapelcross, Dungeness and Wylfa.
The last unit to go offline was Hinkley Point B-1 in August 2022. The only commercial nuclear plants under construction in the UK are two EPR units at Hinkley Point C, although there are plans for two new units at Sizewell C.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the London-based Nuclear Industry Association, said EDF’s unprecedented investment will help preserve nuclear as “a bedrock of our energy security”.
But he warned that while lifetime extensions will help in the short term, they will not address the medium and long-term issues of a fleet getting close to retirement.
“What we now need is for the government to get Sizewell C to a final investment decision swiftly and set out a plan for a new fleet of stations large and small to maintain nuclear’s contribution to our energy security and economic prosperity for the future.”
EDF Energy is looking into running its single-unit Sizewell B station for 20 years longer than scheduled, until 2055. Courtesy EDF Energy.
