Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside are now expected to produce low carbon electricity until March 2030 after a decision by operator, EDF.

Extending the generating lives of these plants could boost nuclear output by 28TWh over the two-year period, with EDF’s MD of nuclear operations, John Munro, saying: “The Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor stations have been the backbone of secure, zero carbon generation in the UK for five decades. The nuclear fleet also has a key role in maintaining grid stability, which is so important as the overall system becomes led by renewables. Today’s decision retains stable baseload, domestic generation, reducing reliance on imports during tighter periods.”

When EDF acquired the fleet in 2009 all seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations were scheduled to be offline by 2023, but a series of life extensions mean four of those stations are still generating with three now in various stages of defueling or decommissioning.

Keeping the stations online will retain around 12 per cent of the UK’s nuclear generation in the mix in 2028 and together with the announcement of the Government’s commitment to delivering the recommendations from the Fingleton Review, sends a positive signal about supporting nuclear power.

The decision comes following a detailed review covering technical aspects like the condition of the boilers and the graphite cores as well as supply chain resilience and workforce planning.

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