EDF has confirmed that it will extend the lives of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations by an additional two years.
The two nuclear power stations in the north of England both marked 40 years of generation this year. They will now continue generating power until March 2026.
In 2009, when EDF took responsibility for the fleet, they were due to end generation in 2014. EDF invested in upgrading the plants to enable the forecast to move to 2024. This has now been moved out by a further two years to March 2026.
In total, EDF has invested over £7 billion in its UK nuclear fleet since 2009 to extend the generating lifetimes of the existing fleet, delivering over 30% more output than originally forecast.
The March 2026 end of generation date has been made on a plus one, minus one basis, meaning there is an ambition to continue generation for a further 12 months past the March 2026 date but that there is still a risk that the new date set may not be achieved.
Matt Sykes, managing director of EDF’s Generation business said: “Supplying zero-carbon and affordable electricity, whatever the weather, has never been more important than right now. Our ongoing investment and careful stewardship of the UK nuclear fleet since 2009 has allowed us to make today’s decision and helps support the UK’s energy security at this challenging time.
“As well as helping the UK reduce its use of imported gas, it is also great news for the 2,000 skilled people whose jobs are supported by these sites and will help preserve valuable technical and operational skills that will be critical as the UK seeks to rebuild its nuclear capability.”
EDF estimates that the two stations will generate an additional 29TWh of electricity in the additional two-year period that they will be online.
The decision to extend the life of the plants was taken after positive inspections of the graphite reactor cores during 2022 increased confidence that the stations can generate for longer and continue to meet regulatory standards.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, added: “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.”
EDF has previously said that it was also looking at the feasibility of Advanced Modular Reactors at Hartlepool as well as the potential for hydrogen production Heysham.
Construction of EDF’s Hinkley Point C power station also continues to gather pace with the plant’s first reactor arriving on site last month. Despite construction progress, the cost of the project continues to rise with EDF recently revealing a further £6 billion cost increase.
It led several academics and analysts to question whether the government should revisit its plans to invest in future large-scale nuclear projects.
The government’s Energy Security Strategy, published in April 2022, envisages a significant acceleration of new nuclear in the UK, with an ambition of up to 24GW by 2050 to come from this source of power. In total, this would cover around 25% of the country’s projected electricity needs.