1 year ago
835
Britain’s aging Advanced Gas Cooled reactors may, like exhausted racehorses, be on their last legs, but operator EDF Energy is clearly intent on keeping them running for as long as possible.
The company announced yesterday a twelve month extension in operations at their Heysham 1 and Hartlepool AGR plants until March 2028, citing the retention of jobs and a desire to contribute to the UK achieving net zero and energy security – but the NFLAs suspect a more pressing motivation.
In a comment to industry media, NFLA Secretary Richard Outram said:
‘The EDF announcement is unsurprising. Although company bosses may crow a lot about the preservation of local jobs, the NFLAs suspect this is about the preservation of EDF’s bottom line.
‘Given the parlous state of the French parent company’s finances, the intermittent output of the domestic fleet, and the vast overspend on Hinkley Point C, EDF have a clear incentive to keep open for as long as possible any nuclear plant in their portfolio which operates and generates profits.’
Dr Ian Fairlie, an independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment and a former advisor to the UK Government and European Parliament, is also sceptical as to EDF’s motives:
“The real reason why French parent company Électricité de France wants to prolong the lives of their obsolete, past-it, reactors is financial.
“Électricité de France is in deep financial straits, and closing its reactors would (a) cut off their electricity sales and (b) incur losses as they continue to pay the salaries of the power plant workers.
“Why? Because closed reactors need to be cooled for years afterwards due to decay heat”.
The AGRs are now operating well beyond their projected closure dates, and the NFLAs have previously expressed concerns that the graphite core moderators, which in each AGR reactor acts as an essential safety feature, are now cracking.
Richard explained:
‘The NFLAs have previously expressed our concerns with the Office for Nuclear Regulation that these aging AGRs are now well past their sell by date with graphite cracking being a real worry, as seen recently at the sister AGR plant at Torness’.
Dr Paul Dorfman, Chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group and the NFLA’s representative on the Irish Government’s Radiation Protection Advisory Committee, explains why this matters:
“In the real world, the graphite cores of Heysham and Hartlepool have significant structural damage to graphite bricks, including cracks in the fuelled section of the reactor.
“Deterioration of the graphite core is the key life-limiting factors for all UK AGR’s. The graphite core cannot be repaired or replaced.
“Channels run through the graphite bricks and safety control rods shutdown the reactor in an emergency. But cracked graphite brick failure causes the nuclear fuel to overheat, the core is misaligned, and fuel modules get stuck. If this happens, the fuel temperature rises and melts, the radiation gets into the gas stream and releases to the atmosphere – with all that implies”.
The NFLAs have previously met with senior ONR officials to seek a more rigorous regime of inspections of graphite cracking. Purely by chance (for he had booked incognito), the NFLA Secretary saw such an inspection being conducted by EDF technicians on the reactor floor whilst visiting the Heysham complex.
In response to EDF announcement, the Office for Nuclear Regulation said:
‘Although (EDF’s) plant life extension decisions do not need formal regulatory assessment or permissioning by ONR, it is a requirement of the site licence that operations be carried out under a valid safety case. Several safety cases at each station are likely to require updating to achieve EDF’s stated ambitions, together with investment in plant to sustain equipment reliability, all while ensuring that the necessary people and skills are available.’
After considering the ONR statement, Emeritus Professor Stephen Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of Energy Policy and Emeritus Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich, identified some key questions that now need to be asked of the regulators:
“We need to be asking when the existing safety cases for the AGR stations will expire, which safety cases will need updating, and when, and whether the ONR will publish its assessment of these updated safety cases?
“If the regulator responds that there is no specific date upon which the existing cases expire, why is there a need for any updating?”
Dr Dorfman is particularly concerned that some cracking may be underestimated in the current inspection regime:
“There are very limited ways of detecting hidden and developing subsurface cracks.
“Since keyway route cracks are situated on the outside of the graphite bricks it is difficult to inspect the channels in which the fuel sits, and normally only around 10% are inspected each time the reactor is shutdown – so likely that some are ‘unobserved’ and so it’s entirely possible that this age-related damage may be much more extensive.
“In the absence of a full visual inspection a non-deterministic mathematical model is used to try to calculate keyway route cracks in particular parts of the reactor; so, we need to know how far ONR relies on industry non-deterministic models”.
The NFLA Secretary will be taking up these issues with the new Chief Nuclear Inspector.
Ends//…For more information contact NFLA Secretary Richard Outram by email to richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk
EDF’s announcement, 2 Sept 2025
Two UK nuclear plants to generate for longer supporting energy security
- Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations will continue generating until March 2028, an extension of 12 months
- The decision secures more than 1,000 high-quality local jobs in the Lancashire and Teesside areas for longer
- Extending lifetimes at these stations also helps support UK energy security and reduces the use of imported gas.
EDF has confirmed further life extensions for two of its UK nuclear power stations. Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside will continue generating until March 2028, an extension of 12 months.
The decision was taken following a series of positive graphite inspections at both stations over the past nine months.
Dr Mark Hartley, Managing Director of EDF’s Nuclear Operations business, said: “I am pleased we have been able to confirm a further 12 months of operation for Heysham 1 and Hartlepool.
“Extending the life of these stations makes sense. It secures employment for longer for more than 1,000 people who work at those sites, and it supports the UK’s ambitions to have a clean, secure electricity supply.
“A further year of operation for these two stations has the potential to power more than four million homes and reduce the need for imported gas.”
In December 2024, EDF extended the lifetimes of all four of its generating Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations. At that time Heysham 1 and Hartlepool were given a one-year extension on the basis that there were a number of important inspection and safety case milestones due in 2025. Positive progress in these areas has supported the decision to extend the lifetime by an additional 12 months.
Heysham 2 and Torness, which are both scheduled to generate until March 2030, were not in scope for this review after a two-year extension was granted last year.
EDF’s ambition is to continue making zero-carbon electricity at its four generating Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations for as long as it is safe and commercially viable to do so and will keep station lifetimes under review.
Notes to Editors
- The decision on the change of generation dates for the two stations was taken following a series of EDF executive and licensee board meetings on 1 September 2025.
- Decisions on end of generation dates for EDF’s nuclear power stations in the UK are independent of the regulator or government and are taken by EDF’s licensee board following recommendations from EDF Nuclear Generation Limited’s Executive.
- This latest life extension is now EDF’s most likely view, and the market has been notified accordingly.
- These dates are forecasts, and the precise dates will be determined by the results of regular graphite inspections and how those results are interpreted within EDF and by the independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
- End of generation dates are kept under review and revised based on the best information available at the time.
- Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations were due to move into defueling in March 2027 based on a review in December 2024.
- The results of inspections of the graphite cores during 2025 have supported EDF’s decision to extend station lifetimes.
- Sizewell B is a different type of nuclear power station, and its lifetime was not reviewed as part of this process. There is also a good opportunity to extend the lifetime of the Sizewell B station for a further 20 years, out to 2055. This will require securing a sustainable commercial model before an investment decision is taken.
In response, the Office for Nuclear Regulation issued the following statement:
https://www.onr.org.uk/news/all-news/2025/09/edf-lifetime-extensions-review-onr-statement
EDF lifetime extensions review – ONR statement – 2 Sept 2025
A spokesperson for the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said: “As the independent nuclear regulator, we are conscious of the nation’s energy challenges and government aspirations to achieve net zero.
“We will always try to regulate in a way that helps industry, working constructively with EDF on their plans to extend the life of their nuclear plants, while ensuring it achieves the required standards of safety and security in the most practical way.
“Although their plant life extension decisions do not need formal regulatory assessment or permissioning by ONR, it is a requirement of the site licence that operations be carried out under a valid safety case.
“Several safety cases at each station are likely to require updating to achieve EDF’s stated ambitions, together with investment in plant to sustain equipment reliability, all while ensuring that the necessary people and skills are available.
“The ongoing safety of operations at any nuclear site must be fully demonstrated to us as part of ongoing regulation which will be informed by our extensive inspection and assessment regime.”
