Latest news with #AndyDalling
Business Mayor
04-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Scottish nuclear plant emptied of fuel as UK winds down ageing gas-cooled reactors
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The first of the UK's seven advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations has been emptied of fuel, kick-starting a decommissioning process that will cost at least £27bn in total and take almost a century. EDF said on Thursday it had defuelled Hunterston B, on the west coast of Scotland, paving the way for the transfer of the site and 250 staff from the French power company to the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority next April. The site provided most of Scotland's energy for more than 40 years from its launch in 1976 until its final closure in 2022. Andy Dalling, station manager at Hunterston B, said the process was 'on time and to budget and marked the first time this type of station has been defuelled'. 'That means lessons we've learned over the past three years will be applied to the rest of the fleet,' he added. EDF owns seven advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) plants in the UK, which were built between the 1960s and 1980s and differ from newer nuclear plants that use water for cooling. Just four are still operating. The uranium fuel has been packaged into 350 large flasks, which will be stored by the NDA at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria for at least 50 years until a longer-term underground facility has been built. Although the process took just three years and £400mn, it will take almost a century to eradicate the radiation from the land and buildings, EDF has said. The decommissioning of the seven AGRs is separate to a much wider £105bn decommissioning programme, which will cover an additional 17 closed nuclear sites over the next 120 years, according to the NDA. The closures will leave the UK with just one nuclear power plant still running by 2030 — Sizewell B in Suffolk, which is also managed by EDF and uses a pressurised water reactor. The NDA said it was 'acutely aware of the costs associated with delivering our mission'. The cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants is under scrutiny as the UK presses ahead with new nuclear projects, including the £40bn Sizewell C, which is expected to get government go-ahead this spring, and the £46bn Hinkley Point C, which is still under construction and will open by 2030 at the earliest. EDF has a 72.6 per cent stake in Hinkley Point C and is tipped to take a 10- 20 per cent stake in Sizewell C, though discussions with the government are ongoing. The decommissioning on both Hinkley and Sizewell C is expected to be shorter, with separate funds planned to cover the costs. Steve Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at Greenwich university, said the cost of decommissioning should be taken into account when the government decided on new nuclear plants as 'no scheme can be guaranteed to meet a cost more than a century into the future'. Although EDF has owned Hunterston B and the seven other AGR nuclear plants since 2009, the cost of decommissioning is being paid for through the ringfenced Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), which was set up in 1996 after privatisation and is valued at £20.6bn. Decommissioning costs have soared over the past three decades, with the fund requiring cash injections from the Treasury, including £5bn in July 2020 and a further £5.6bn in March 2022, according to the NLF. Recommended The last of the AGR reactors is expected to be defuelled and transferred to the NDA by 2035, though they may receive further life extensions. Hunterston worked for 20 years more than was originally intended. Although controversial, nuclear power complements the intermittency of renewable energy such as wind and solar power. But there are concerns that the UK has no permanent and safe facility for storing the waste. Most of the waste is stored at Sellafield, where 140 tonnes of plutonium is held in decaying containers and ageing buildings, though in line with regulatory requirements. The government is seeking a site where treated high-hazard waste could be safely disposed of underground with three potential locations in Cumbria and Lincolnshire identified.
The Independent
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Hunterston B site declared nuclear-free as all spent fuel removed
All spent nuclear fuel has been removed from the site of the former Hunterston B power station, leading to it being declared nuclear-free. The site in North Ayrshire provided power for nearly 46 years before it was shut down in 2022. Over the past three years engineers have removed 4,880 elements of spent fuel from Hunterston B, packaging them into large flasks before transport to Sellafield in Cumbria for long-term storage. Owners say the nuclear power plant saved 172 million tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere compared to gas-fired power during its time in operation. The focus is now on preparing the site for transfer from current operators EDF to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) for further decommissioning. There is currently one nuclear power station active in Scotland, at Torness in East Lothian, which is due to close in 2030. Hunterston B station director Andy Dalling said: 'Defueling the station on time and on budget has been down to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved, and we are proud to have been able to deliver such an exceptional performance. 'We are now fully focused on getting the station ready to transfer from EDF to NRS for decommissioning in around a year's time. 'Deconstruction of the site will take place over the coming years, with most of the people working here today staying at the site to carry out that job.' Hunterston B is the first in the UK's fleet of seven advanced gas-cooled reactors to be completely defueled. UK energy security minister Lord Hunt said: 'Hunterston B produced the equivalent of enough clean power for all of Scotland's homes for over 30 years while supporting thousands of jobs – that's why we are backing new nuclear as part of our Plan for Change to get Britain building and become a clean energy superpower. 'Quick and effective decommissioning of old nuclear sites is vital for a successful nuclear industry, and today's milestone demonstrates the UK's leadership in this field.' The SNP has a longstanding opposition to new nuclear power being constructed in Scotland but other parties, including Labour and the Conservatives, have called for it to pave the way for new technology such as small modular reactors.
STV News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Hunterston B site declared nuclear-free as all spent fuel removed
All spent nuclear fuel has been removed from the site of the former Hunterston B power station, leading to it being declared nuclear-free. The site in North Ayrshire provided power for nearly 46 years before it was shut down in 2022. Over the past three years engineers have removed 4,880 elements of spent fuel from Hunterston B, packaging them into large flasks before transport to Sellafield in Cumbria for long-term storage. Owners say the nuclear power plant saved 172 million tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere compared to gas-fired power during its time in operation. The focus is now on preparing the site for transfer from the current operators, EDF, to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) for further decommissioning. There is currently one nuclear power station active in Scotland, at Torness in East Lothian, which is due to close in 2030. Hunterston B station director Andy Dalling said: 'Defueling the station on time and on budget has been down to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved, and we are proud to have been able to deliver such an exceptional performance. 'We are now fully focused on getting the station ready to transfer from EDF to NRS for decommissioning in around a year's time. 'Deconstruction of the site will take place over the coming years, with most of the people working here today staying at the site to carry out that job.' Hunterston B is the first in the UK's fleet of seven advanced gas-cooled reactors to be completely defueled. UK energy security minister Lord Hunt said: 'Hunterston B produced the equivalent of enough clean power for all of Scotland's homes for over 30 years while supporting thousands of jobs – that's why we are backing new nuclear as part of our Plan for Change to get Britain building and become a clean energy superpower. 'Quick and effective decommissioning of old nuclear sites is vital for a successful nuclear industry, and today's milestone demonstrates the UK's leadership in this field.' The SNP has a longstanding opposition to new nuclear power being constructed in Scotland but other parties, including Labour and the Conservatives, have called for it to pave the way for new technology such as small modular reactors. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
'Milestone' as Scottish power station completes defueling
It is the first station in the UK's fleet of seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) sites to be completely defueled. Formal confirmation came following a series of rigorous checks of the power station by EDF and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). Andy Dalling, Hunterston B Station Director, said: 'Defueling the station on time and on budget has been down to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved and we are proud to have been able to deliver such an exceptional performance. 'We are now fully focussed on getting the station ready to transfer from EDF to NRS for decommissioning in around a year's time. Deconstruction of the site will take place over the coming years, with most of the people working here today staying at the site to carry out that job.' READ MORE: World's largest liquid air energy facility to be created in Ayrshire Ministers 'misled' on environmental impact of new power plant, campaigners claim Scotland's oldest electricity line pulled down after almost 100 years It took two years and 10 months to remove all the fuel from the site, with the work delivered to budget using funds from the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), a ring-fenced £20.6 billion fund set up in 1996 specifically to pay for the decommissioning of the current nuclear fleet. Mark Hartley, Managing Director of EDF's Nuclear Operations business, said: 'The completion of defueling and confirmation the site is officially 'fuel-free' is a significant milestone in the station's journey. Removing all the spent nuclear fuel unlocks the next phase of work and will allow decommissioning by NRS to progress as planned. 'Hunterston B has proven itself an incredible asset for Scotland. Over its lifetime it has contributed more than £13.3 billion to the economy and supported thousands of jobs locally every year. It delivered during generation and now, with the successful completion of defueling, it has delivered on the commitment made by EDF to the UK Government.' In June 2021, EDF signed a contract with the UK Government to defuel all seven AGR stations across the UK before their transfer to NRS. Hinkley Point B in Somerset is expected to complete defueling by the end of 2025. Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Hunt, said: 'Hunterston B produced the equivalent of enough clean power for all of Scotland's homes for over 30 years while supporting thousands of jobs – that's why we are backing new nuclear as part of our Plan for Change to get Britain building and become a clean energy superpower. 'Quick and effective decommissioning of old nuclear sites is vital for a successful nuclear industry, and today's milestone demonstrates the UK's leadership in this field.' Over the past three years 4,880 elements of spent fuel have been removed, processed and packaged into almost 350 large, specially engineered, flasks. The fuel was transported by rail by Nuclear Transport Services (NTS) from Hunterston B to Sellafield, in Cumbria, for long-term storage. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is the public body responsible for the decommissioning of the 17 nuclear sites across the UK and is the parent body of NRS, NTS and Sellafield. NDA Group CEO, David Peattie, said: 'This is a significant achievement, and I want to congratulate EDF, the staff at Hunterston B, and all those involved from the NDA group who worked tirelessly in partnership to make this happen. 'We look forward to welcoming Hunterston B into our group. We're experts in nuclear decommissioning and nuclear waste management and we're proud to utilise our specialist skills and capability to support the wider sector, for the benefit of the nation. 'It's why the Government has entrusted the NDA with the long-term decommissioning of AGRs, and we'll continue to work closely with EDF to ensure the smooth transition of the site to Nuclear Restoration Services next year.'
