EDF extends the life of four UK nuclear plants
16 Feb 2016
French energy firm EDF Energy has announced plans to extend the life at four of its nuclear power stations in the UK.
Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside have had their closure dates extended by five years to 2024, while Heysham 2 and Torness in East Lothian have had their closure dates pushed back seven years to 2030.
Our continuing investment, our expertise and the professional relationship we have with the safety regulator means we can safely prolong the operating life of our nuclear power stations.
EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz
EDF Energy said today’s announcement follows “extensive” technical and safety reviews of the four plants.
EDF Energy chief executive officer Vincent de Rivaz said: “Our continuing investment, our expertise and the professional relationship we have with the safety regulator means we can safely prolong the operating life of our nuclear power stations.”
EDF Energy also said that because the Carbon Price Floor and the Capacity Market will likely be maintained and strengthened, it had the confidence to move the scheduled closure dates at the four nuclear plants.
“In today’s extremely challenging market conditions, our belief that Government policy will be maintained and strengthened gives us the confidence to invest in our nuclear stations. This gives customers the best value low carbon electricity available,” de Rivaz said.
Energy secretary Amber Rudd said EDF’s decision was a vote of confidence in support for the UK's nuclear industry.
However, Matt Osborne, head of risk at energy consultants Inenco, has called plans to extend life at the plants and act of “simply kicking the can further down the road”.
“The lifetime extension of EDF's four nuclear plants will relieve security of supply concerns in the short term, but it only papers over the cracks in the UK's energy market,” Osborne said.
“Without significant investment in new generation, including new nuclear, homes and businesses face the risk of demand outstripping supply in the coming years,” he added.
EDF Energy is currently in the process of finalising plans to build a new nuclear power station in Somerset.
However, though EDF Energy and the China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) signed a strategic investment agreement last year – in which EDF owns a 66.5% stake and CGN owns 33.5% – recent reports suggest the French firm is struggling to find the necessary funds to pay for its stake in the £18 billion project.
Despite that speculation, EDF Energy said the “final steps are well in hand to enable the full construction phase to be launched very soon”.
