2024-01-10 21:51:34
The British government has decided on what it describes as “the largest expansion of nuclear power capacity in 70 years” on the island. She presented a plan for this on Wednesday. By 2050, domestic nuclear power production capacities are to be increased to 24 gigawatts. That would be almost four times the current capacity. Among other things, the possibility of building a third large nuclear power plant in addition to the already planned and partially built Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C nuclear power plants is being examined. This is intended to supply 6 million households with electrical power.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Nuclear energy is the perfect antidote to the energy challenges facing Great Britain – it is green, cheaper in the long term and will guarantee British energy security in the long term.” The government left it open where the third large power plant could be located. In addition, it plans to build small nuclear power plants, so-called Small Modular Reactors (SMR). A competition is being held to determine the best and most cost-effective model.
Meanwhile, the energy company EDF has announced that it is seeking to extend the life of four of its nuclear power plants in Great Britain by at least two years and will invest billions in this. This meets the London government’s desire to increase the share of nuclear power. The proportion is currently falling. Three nuclear power plants have been shut down in recent years due to age. EDF’s plan would prevent nuclear capacity from declining even faster this decade. The French company is involved in eight nuclear power plants on the island, mostly in collaboration with Centrica.
Generating electricity “as long as possible”
As EDF announced, the Heysham 2 and Torness power plants, with a combined capacity of 2.4 gigawatts, will be kept in operation for two years beyond the previous end date of 2028. This is subject to a safety inspection and approval from the regulatory authority. Heysham and Torness are so-called AGR, gas-cooled reactors. The company explained that they should generate electricity “for as long as possible”. In addition, EDF wants to examine whether it is possible to extend the operating life of Sizewell B by twenty years until 2055, announced EDF manager Mark Hartley.
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It had previously been decided to keep the Hartlepool and Heysham 1 power plants, which were actually scheduled to expire in 2023, online for longer. If the company gets the green light for the new plans, it wants to invest 1.3 billion pounds (1.5 billion euros) in maintaining and modernizing the nuclear power plants.
In the past twelve months, the share of nuclear power in Great Britain was an average of 15 percent; in 2019 it was 17 percent. The Tory government aims to increase the proportion to 25 percent by 2050. The large EDF Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant with 3.2 gigawatts in Somerset is currently under construction, but it is apparently becoming more expensive and its construction will probably take longer than planned. It is unclear whether the planned start in June 2027 is tenable. EDF has also started preparatory work for the Sizewell C power plant on the east coast of England. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C are expected to cover 7 percent of Britain’s electricity needs.
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