British nuclear plant Hinkley Point B granted permission to decommission

The Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant in Somerset, UK, which has been shut down for three years, has received permission from the regulator to be decommissioned. Nothing now stands in the way of dismantling its two AGR units, with a combined installed capacity of 1250 MW. Decommissioning work will take more than 10 years. The UK is now building two new EPR units at the Hinkley Point site, with a combined capacity of 3.2 GW, which are expected to come online after 2030.

The British nuclear regulator (Office for Nuclear Regulation - ONR) announced that it had granted permission to decommission the Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant. EDF Energy ended operations at the two-reactor plant in 2022. Since then, the operator has, among other things, removed the nuclear fuel from the reactors.

“After careful assessment and public consultation, we are satisfied that EDF’s plans to decommission Hinkley Point B include appropriate measures to protect people and the environment,” said Dan Hasted, ONR’s director of regulation.

EDF Energy applied for permission to decommission the plant in September last year. The Hinkley Point B site will be transferred from EDF to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. NRS will be responsible for the next stages of decommissioning, during which technicians will dismantle all buildings and equipment over approximately 13 years, with the exception of the nuclear waste store.

New units under construction at the site

The Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant generated electricity from its two AGR (Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor) units from 1976. The plant had a total capacity of 1250 MW. According to EDF Energy, over almost 46 years of operation it generated more than 311 TWh of zero-emission electricity. The UK currently has four operational AGR units, which will be shut down by 2030.

“We will continue to monitor the Hinkley Point B site throughout the decommissioning phase to ensure that the licence holder complies with the applicable legislation protecting workers and the public,” Hasted added.

Two EPR pressurised water reactors, each with a capacity of 1600 MW, are currently under construction at the Hinkley Point site. Commissioning of Hinkley Point C has, however, faced repeated delays, and it is now certain that the plant will not enter commercial operation before the early 2030s.