Hunterston B nuclear power station will close by the winter of 2023, Capacity Market documents have indicated.
The prequalification register for the T-4 auction for delivery starting in 2023/24 shows the plant has opted out as it will be “closed down, decommissioned or otherwise non-operational” by then.
It has also opted out of the T-3 auction for delivery starting in 2022/23, although the corresponding register says it will remain operational for that winter.
A spokesperson for the majority owner, EDF Energy, said: “We intend that Hunterston B will still be operating in 2022/23 – its scheduled closure date is 2023 .
“As a licenced generator EDF Energy can opt in and prequalify its units for the Capacity Market or opt out. Units have the option of opting out ‘operational’ or ‘closed’. By opting out ‘operational’ in the T-3 auction we’re leaving open the option of entering Hunterston B in the future T-1 auction for 2022/23.
“Opting out ‘closed’ in the T-4 auction for 2023-4 confirms that we expect to be closed before that delivery year begins on 1 October 2023 – this is no change to what we have previously said about the lifetime of Hunterston B.”
Hunterston B features two advanced gas cooler reactors with a combined generation capacity of 965MW. The power station was commissioned in 1976 and is the oldest plant in Britain’s nuclear fleet.
It was originally designed to operate for 40 years, but in 2012 the lives of both itself and its sister project, Hinkley Point B, were extended by seven years to 2023.
The first of the reactors at Hunterston B is still offline after new cracks were found in the graphite core during a routine inspection in March 2018.
The cracks were expected to appear as the reactor neared the end of its life but were more numerous than anticipated, exceeding the operational limit of 350. As result of the discovery, the inspection of the second reactor was moved forward to October 2018.
Both remained offline until this summer when the Office for Nuclear Regulation gave permission for the second reactor to reopen after raising the operational limit on cracks to 700.
The regulator said the reactor was not in breach of the limit at the time but soon would be if it carried on operating. It gave permission to EDF Energy to generate around 385TWh of electricity – the equivalent of four months of operation – and said it would need further approval to continue beyond then.
EDF Energy is still awaiting approval to reopen the first reactor.
Britain’s fleet of eight operational nuclear power stations is jointly owned by EDF Energy (80 per cent) and Centrica (20 per cent), although the latter is looking for buyers for its share. Most are expected to close by the end of the next decade.
Source: EDF Energy
Despite being scheduled to shut down in 2023, the Capacity Market register lists Hinkley Point B as remaining operational during the 2023/24 delivery year. The plant has opted out of the corresponding T-4 auction but could still pick up a contract in the T-1 auction for that year.
Industry commentators have raised concerns that the closure of the UK’s existing nuclear power stations could leave the country with a deficit of low-carbon generation after developers decided to shelve two new nuclear projects at Moorside in Cumbria and Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey.
Hinkley Point C – a 3.2GW facility in Somerset – is currently being built by EDF Energy but is behind schedule and over budget.