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| Fig. 1: Image of Hinkley Point C. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
As of March 2022, the United Kingdom (U.K.) generates 15-20% of its electricity from nuclear energy. [1] In the 1990s, nuclear energy accounted for 25% of electricity generation in the U.K., but due to the retiring of plants and aging issues with older plants, that number has declined. An example of the deterioration of current U.K. nuclear reactors is Hinkley Point B. Having produced over 300 TWh in its 45-year lifespan, this reactor has a planned closing date of July 2022. [2] The decrease in nuclear energy generation in the U.K. can also be attributed to investment in other sources of energy and the high cost of nuclear development.
As of March 2022, there are currently eleven operable reactors in the U.K. The largest nuclear reactors include Sizewell B (pictured in Fig. 1) and Heysham B 2. [1] The Sizewell B reactor was expected to be the first reactor in a series of pressured water reactors (PWRs) but the plans for the rest of the PWRs were abandoned in the 1990s. Other reactors include Hartlepool A and Torness. [1] Most nuclear reactors in the U.K. are gas-cooled reactors. These reactors use graphite as a neutron moderator alongside gas as the coolant.
Since the 2008 Energy Act, the U.K. has focused on generating energy with a focus on reducing carbon emissions rather than maximizing business value. [3] The Climate Change Act of 2008 also set a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050. [3] Since nuclear power plants do not produce any greenhouse gases, the U.K. has recently invested in a new series of nuclear plants as a means of green alternative energy. In 2006, the Labour government of the country began to implement new measures for streamlining future nuclear development. Some of the implemented strategies include site planning assessments and pre-license designs for reactor build proposals. [1]
To expand nuclear capacity, the U.K. currently has plans for two EPR reactors at Hinkley Point. In 2013, the government announced an agreement with the EDF group, an energy company, for a 16 billion pound contract for constructing Hinkley Point C. [1] Construction began on Hinkley Point C1 and Hinkley Point C2 in December 2018 and December 2019 respectively. Pictured in Fig. 1, both of the under-construction Hinkley Point C reactors are EPR (evolutionary power reactor) reactors. Both reactors are expected to be completed between 2026 and 2027. [2]
Other plans for future nuclear energy development in the U.K. include EDF Energy's proposal to build two EPR units at Sizewell (Suffolk) and the proposal by China General Nuclear (CGN) to build a second pair of units at Bradwell (Essex). [1] Beyond these long-term plans for nuclear reactors, the U.K. will also need to explore short-term solutions for sustainable energy development. In summary, corporations such as EDF and CGN will need to work in parallel with U.K. policymakers to improve carbon emissions and facilitate the deployment of nuclear energy stations.
© Siddharth Sharma. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] L. Tarhuni, "UK Nuclear Power," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2017.
[2] C. Sanders, "UK Nuclear Modernization," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2015
[3] J. Stein, "Nuclear Energy in the United Kingdom," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2016.
