Welcoming the lifetime extensions granted to the UK’s four remaining Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor stations by EDF, Heysham 1 & 2 (Lancashire), Hartlepool (Teesside) and Torness (East Lothian), Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said:
“These extensions will cut bills, cut emissions, and protect jobs for communities that need them. They represent the single biggest contribution to Clean Power 2030 this year and are vital to propping up our shaky grid. The margin between us and blackouts is a few hundred megawatts, and these stations are 4,700 megawatts.
“The AGRs are the most productive clean energy assets in our history and their extra output will cut over 9 billion cubic metres of gas use and save over 16 million tonnes of CO2.
“However, their generating lives can not be repeatedly extended – so as welcome as this news is – it is not a substitute for getting on and building new nuclear capacity at Sizewell C, a fleet of SMRs and a project at Wylfa to ensure a clean, secure, reliable power system for the long term.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- Heysham 1 and Hartlepool Power Stations have been granted a one-year extension and will operate until March 2027. Heysham 2 and Torness will operate for a further 2 years until March 2030.
- The UK has nine reactors across five nuclear sites providing around 14% of the country’s electricity from 5.9 GW of capacity.
About the NIA
As the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, the Nuclear Industry Association represents 300 companies across the UK’s nuclear supply chain.
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