Move could help compensate for delays to Hinkley Point C new-build project
French state-owned energy giant EDF will keep four ageing nuclear power stations in Britain open for longer than planned, in a boost to the UK’s energy security.
The company said two stations currently due to close in March 2026 –Hartlepool A and Heysham A – would now remain online until March 2027, while Heysham B and Torness, that were scheduled to close in March 2028, would stay online until March 2030.
Each station has two Generation II advanced gas-cooled reactor units s for a total of eight across the four sites. According to International Atomic Energy data the eight units have a combined net capacity of 4,685 MW.
In total the UK has nine reactors across five nuclear sites providing around 14% of the country’s electricity.
The stations that are staying online, three in northern England and one, Torness, in southern Scotland, were built in the 1980s and were originally meant to shut down in 2023. Their working lives have already been extended once.
The latest extension will help make up for the delay to the Hinkley Point C power plant that EDF is building in Somerset, southwest England. Hinkley Point C will have two France-supplied EPR units, the first of which is due to start generating in 2029 at the earliest, four years later than its original date.
EDF said it has invested around £8bn (€9.6bn, $10bn) over the last 15 years in the UK nuclear fleet and expects to spend a further £1.3bn from 2025 to 2027.
The UK’s only other commercial nuclear power plant, Sizewell B, was not part of the most recent review process as it is a pressurised water reactor unit. However, its lifetime could be extended by 20 years to 2055.
“This will require securing a sustainable commercial model before an investment decision is taken,” said UK energy company Centrica, which owns 20% of the sites.
Centrica said ongoing reviews could lead to further extensions. The current dates are forecasts, with precise dates determined in future following regular inspections by the plants’ operators and the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
‘No Substitute For New Capacity’
The UK nuclear industry welcomed the lifetime extensions. Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the London-based Nuclear Industry Association, said the extensions will cut bills, cut emissions, and protect jobs for communities that need them.
“However, their generating lives cannot be repeatedly extended – so as welcome as this news is – it is not a substitute for getting on and building new nuclear capacity at Sizewell C, a fleet of SMRs [small modular reactors] and a project at Wylfa to ensure a clean, secure, reliable power system for the long term,” Greatrex said.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband recently underlined his “absolute support” for a planned SMR programme set in motion by the previous government, but expressed less certainty on plans for new build at Wylfa, saying only it is “something that we will certainly be looking at”.
Miliband told a parliamentary debate on energy that the Labour Party’s manifesto, published in the runup to its sweeping victory in a July general election, made it clear that the party supports new nuclear, including at Sizewell C, and also supports the SMR programme.
Two units at the Torness nuclear station that were scheduled to close in March 2028 will stay online until March 2030. Courtesy EDF.
