The nuclear power plant, which produces more electricity than any other, will be shut down on Monday.
Hinkley Point B in Somerset has been generating electricity since 1976 and currently accounts for around 3% of the UK’s total electricity needs.
Shutting down Hinkley means more power from gas, which is currently at a record price.
Industry experts have predicted that energy costs in the UK will have to rise as a result.
Why is it switched off and what are the consequences?
Simply put, Hinkley B has reached the end of his life. When it was planned in the 1960s, it was only intended to work into the new century.
The first shutdown date was then planned for 2016, but careful management of the technology kept it going. In 2012, EDF, the energy company that owns the plant, announced that it was safe to continue operating until 2022.
EDF said: “Hinkley B has reliably produced carbon-free electricity for over 46 years, more than 15 years longer than planned when built, and will complete its generating phase as the most productive nuclear power station the UK has ever had.”
Hinkley B has cooked the equivalent of 100 billion kettles.
In its 46 years it has generated 311 terawatt hours, or 311 billion kilowatt hours, to consume the units we see on household electricity bills.
That’s enough to power 100 million homes for a year based on average usage in the UK.
It’s a significant contribution. Before the Hinkley B shutdown, nuclear power accounted for about 14% of the energy consumed each day, and a fifth of that came from Somerset. There are now only four nuclear power plants in the country and they cannot increase their output.
So the only way to make up the deficit will be more gas power. According to energy experts, the consequences are unavoidable price increases.
Henry Edwards-Evans is a contributing editor at energy specialist S&P Global.
He said: “If you take a generator off the market that has paid for itself in full and doesn’t have the gas price premium that backup power will have, or the carbon cost, then yes, the wholesale price will go up.”
Also, Britain is currently exporting electricity to France because French nuclear power is also declining. So the shutdown of Hinkley B will have an impact across the continent, Edwardes-Evans said.
“If you worsen the availability of nuclear power stations in the UK, you have less leeway to choose the cheapest power sources and keep prices low not only in the UK but across North West continental Europe as well.”
The first nuclear reactor opened at Hinkley Point in 1965. Since then, apart from the occasional break in maintenance and inspection, nuclear power has been generated on the Somerset west coast every year.
Hinkley A was shut down in 2000, and since then EDF has been attempting to build a replacement, Hinkley Point C.
Long debates over how to pay for it and whether the country even wanted it meant construction didn’t start until 2016. The Covid pandemic slowed construction, and the company now hopes to turn on the turbines in 2027, leaving at least a five-year gap.
There are many people who hope that Somerset’s nuclear gap will last forever.
For decades, a local group in the area has been fighting against nuclear power. One of their spokespersons, Roy Pumfrey, points out that while the generation will stop at Hinkley B, there are still years of work to be done to clean up nuclear waste.
He said: “Some of the timescales for disposal of the waste left behind by Hinkley B are truly staggering. According to current plans, it will take 100 years for all of this hazardous waste to be underground.
“Monday shouldn’t be a day to celebrate life [Hinkley Point B].
“Rather, it is a day to mourn the production of radioactive waste that must be carefully and expensively managed and monitored for many generations to come.”
According to broadcaster Mike Davies, the shutdown will be a day of “mixed feelings” for the plant’s operators.
He said: “There’s a lot to be proud of. This little corner of Somerset has produced vast amounts of zero-carbon electricity and has supported and enriched our community by providing thousands of well-paying, high-quality jobs.”
Today, 750 people work in the plant, and entire families often earn their living there.
Mark Langston began working in security 24 years ago and went on to study engineering with the company.
He said: “It was quite nice because Dad was already here in the control room, Mom was working as a guide. I have cousins on the A-side and an uncle on the B-side, so it’s a real family affair. “
Staff will spend three years removing the fuel, which will then be processed and placed in special bottles. These are then transported to Sellafield in Cumbria for storage.
Then the Somerset site is handed over to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which directs the long process of decommissioning a nuclear site.
While the formal safety protocols mean Hinkley B’s life cannot be extended again, many employees feel the factory is still in poor health. Pete Bryan has been there for 34 years and is now a supervisor.
He said: “It’s the end of an era, it’s really sad. The end has to come eventually, but it’s just very unfortunate because it feels like there’s still life in the plant.”
Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Submit your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk
Add Comment