UK Govt Under Pressure to Delay Decommissioning Hinkley Nuclear Plant

UK ministers are resisting demands to keep the nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point B running beyond its decommissioning date in order to keep energy bills down for households.

An aerial view of Hinkley Point C. Credit: Hydrock, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BYSA 4.0

UK ministers are resisting demands to keep the nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point B running beyond its decommissioning date in order to keep energy bills down for households.

The nuclear reactor in Somerset is due to come offline in July this year, with government officials stating it is too old to continue energy production, having previously extended its generating life by seven years back in 2016.

Instead, the British government is calling on energy providers to keep their coal-fuelled power stations running in order to ensure the UK has a steady supply of energy.

But nuclear industry insiders believe the reactor at Hinkley Point B could be extended for at least two more years, providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative to burning more coal.

According to sources, such a move would replace the need to import around 1 billion cubic metres of gas, and save around 2.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

The power station would also be able to provide stable energy supplies significantly cheaper due to the rampant rise in wholesale gas prices.

Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on nuclear and whose constituency Hinkley Point sits, said he has held conversations with both Boris Johnson and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on keeping the reactor going.

The government has already been forced to step in to help energy intensive industries with rising energy costs, with the current compensation scheme extended by a further three years and the funding pot doubled.

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect union said: “The Government must explore every option to increase the UK’s energy security to reduce reliance on foreign imports and bring down consumer bills.

“Six of the UK’s seven nuclear reactors are due to go offline by 2030. Consideration must urgently be given to safely extending the lives of these reactors, including Hinkley Point B, and maintaining the skills required to do so.”

The government currently believes the site should be decommissioned given it has been running 15 years longer than originally planned back in the 1960s.

According to officials, the station was forced to suspend power generation in June 2020, to undertake extensive graphite inspections and conduct maintenance, which showed deterioration in the graphic blocks used in the core.

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