Hunterston B power station in North Ayrshire, Scotland, has completed its defueling process, becoming the first of the UK’s Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations to be free of spent nuclear fuel. According to Nuclear Industry Association, the milestone was achieved within a timeframe of less than three years and adhered to the budget.
Since its commissioning in 1976, Hunterston B has significantly contributed to the UK economy with over £13.3bn and generated nearly 300 TWh of electricity, which could power all homes in Scotland for over 30 years. It also played a role in reducing carbon emissions by saving 172 million tonnes of CO2 compared to gas-fired power generation. The station ceased power generation in January 2022 after 46 years of operation, surpassing its originally planned operational lifespan by two decades.
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.”
The defueling process was financed by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), established in 1996 to support the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Around 4,880 elements of spent fuel were removed and transported to Sellafield for long-term storage. The process involved the packaging of spent fuel into approximately 350 specially engineered flasks and its transportation via rail by Nuclear Transport Services (NTS).
Formal verification of the defueling was conducted through extensive checks by EDF and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The attention now shifts to transferring the station from EDF to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) for continued decommissioning.
This initiative is part of a broader contract signed by EDF with the UK Government in June 2021, aiming to defuel all seven AGR stations across the country before their transition to NRS. Hinkley Point B in Somerset is projected to complete defueling by the end of 2025. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), responsible for overseeing the decommissioning of 17 nuclear sites in the UK, is the parent organization of NRS, NTS, and Sellafield.
