Posted: 23:29, August 1, 2022 | Updated: 02:37, August 2, 2022
Britain’s most productive nuclear power station was switched off yesterday, despite warnings that its shutdown could cause yet another rise in energy bills. Releasing a huge plume of steam to mark the occasion, Somerset’s Hinkley Point B split its last atom after nearly five decades of power generation. Experts warn that decommissioning Hinkley, which contributed around 3 per cent of the UK’s power, means we will have to burn more gas to generate electricity. Its closure means there are now just seven nuclear power stations operating in Britain. Boris Johnson has pledged to build eight nuclear power stations in eight years. Caption: A huge plume of steam rises above Hinkley B nuclear power station yesterday as it shut down after 46 years Henry Edwards, editor of energy specialists S&P Global, told the BBC he expected the Hinkley closure to hit consumers by raising the price of gas. He said: “If you take a generator out of the market that’s fully paid for and doesn’t have the gas price that replacement power will have or the cost of coal, then yes, the wholesale price will go up.” Power company EDF, which owns the plant, said: “Hinkley B has reliably produced zero-carbon electricity for more than 46 years, more than 15 years longer than predicted when it was built, and will complete the production phase its as the most productive nuclear facility the UK has ever had’. Water pumped from Electricite de France SA’s (EDF) Hinkley Point B nuclear power station is sprayed as it meets the Bristol Channel near Bridgwater in Somerset Another reactor at the site, Hinkley Point A, was decommissioned in 2000. EDF – which is 85% owned by the French government – is building a replacement, Hinkley Point C, which is expected to cost £25 billion and open in 2027 . Hinkley B’s life cannot be extended any further due to cracks in the graphite core, described by energy expert Dr Paul Dorfman, of the University of Sussex, as an “end-of-life condition”. The power station was originally supposed to be shut down in 2016, but careful technology management kept it going until yesterday.
100 billion kettles later…
Hinkley B in Somerset produced 3 per cent of the UK’s electricity last year In his 46 years, he has boiled 100 billion kettles It has produced 311 terawatt hours, or 311 billion kilowatt hours – to use the units we see on household energy bills This is enough to power 100 million homes for a year with average UK usage 750 people work on the site, which launched in 1976 – when Mamma Mia! by Abba was No. 1 on the charts Hinkley B has boiled 100 billion kettles Mike Davies, Hinkley Point B station manager, said: “Our attention now turns to the job of refueling the power station.” Over the next three to four years, teams at Hinkley will prepare the plant for decommissioning, including removing the remaining nuclear fuel from the reactors and transporting it to Sellafield for storage. Once this project is complete, EDF will hand over the station to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Jonathon Porritt, former head of Friends of the Earth, said that while Hinkley Point B would stop generating electricity, “the waste that has been created over the last 46 years will survive for a very, very long time”. It came as developers and critics clashed over a proposed offshore wind farm in Wales. The wind farm, which is in its planning phase and is to include up to 50 turbines, could provide power to 500,000 of the country’s 1.38 million households. Awel y Mor could help tackle climate change and minimize the UK’s dependence on imported energy, German energy company RWE Renewables said. But critics of the plan say the wind turbines, which will stand just over six miles off the North Wales coast, will harm marine life and affect tourism. Flintshire Council officials fear the wind farm could ruin views of Snowdonia and other beauty spots that attract tourists to the area. A spokesman said the project would be “substantial adverse to many special qualities associated with the designated landscapes of North Wales and the national park”.
