One of Britain’s six remaining nuclear power plants closed down for the final time yesterday.
EDF Energy has permanently switched off the second reactor at Hinkley Point B near Bridgewater, Somerset, 46 years after it first sent power to the national grid.
The French energy group decided to close the plant earlier than planned after cracks were found in the graphite bricks that form the reactor’s core. The company soon will start removing the nuclear fuel from the reactors, which it said could take several years. After the fuel is removed, both reactors will be handed over to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Mike Davies, station director of Hinkley Point B, said: “This is a day of mixed emotions for all of us. We are justifiably proud of everything this station and its workforce have given to Somerset, and indeed the country, over decades of operations.”
EDF is the majority owner of Britain’s existing nuclear power plants and operates a domestic energy supply business with about three million household customers. It is building a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is expected to cost between £25 billion and £26 billion.
Hinkley Point C was supposed to start up in 2025, but EDF has pushed the date back to mid-2027. The new plant is replacing Hinkley Point A, which EDF switched off in 2000.
