Reacting to the news that EDF will extend the generating life of Hartlepool and Heysham I nuclear power stations by two years to March 2026 (link), Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said:
“These extensions will provide a huge boost to the UK’s short-term energy security. More nuclear baseload will relieve some of the pressure on the grid, cut gas imports and cut carbon. It’s an enormous credit to the skill and dedication of the station staff that these reactors have been able to operate for so long and contribute so much to the nation.
“Alongside life extensions for our existing stations, we still need a new fleet of large-scale and small-scale reactors to ensure our energy security for the long-term. The Budget next week should give Great British Nuclear the funding and the powers to get new projects going and give us assets that will generate clean energy for the rest of this century. That’s what we did 60 years ago, and that’s what we need to do today.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The additional 29 TWh of electricity these stations could generate over that 2-year period could help to displace 6 billion cubic metres of gas. The carbon avoided from this displacement is 10 million tonnes, equivalent to taking 5m cars off the UK’s roads for a year.
- The UK has five generating nuclear power stations, providing around 16% of the country’s electricity from 5.9 GW of capacity.
- Two stations will retire by March 2026, and all but one will retire by March 2028.
- Nuclear has saved the UK 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, far more than any other source. The saving is equivalent to all UK emissions from 2015 through 2020.
About the Nuclear Industry Association
As the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, the Nuclear Industry Association represents more than 260 companies across the UK’s nuclear supply chain.
Links
Visit our website: https://www.niauk.org/
Follow the NIA on Twitter @NIAUK and LinkedIn
