The lifespan of two UK nuclear power stations that power more than 4m homes a year has been extended by France’s EDF and the British Gas owner Centrica.
Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside will continue generating until March 2028, a year longer than planned.
Heysham 1 and Hartlepool began generating electricity in 1983 and both plants were originally slated to be retired in 2014.
The French state-owned energy company confirmed the further life extensions for two of its UK nuclear power stations. The decision was taken after a series of positive graphite inspections at the stations over the past nine months.
Centrica, which has a 20% share in the plants, said this meant “even greater energy security for Britain”.
The UK has a target to decarbonise its electricity supply by 2030 and reduce its reliance on gas power plants, which provide about a third of its power.
Mark Hartley, the managing director of EDF’s nuclear operations business, said the move secured employment for longer for more than 1,000 people who work at the sites, and supported 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 4m homes and reduce the need for imported gas,” he said.
In December, EDF extended the lifetimes of all four of its generating advanced gas-cooled reactor stations in the UK. At the time, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool were given a one-year extension, before inspection and safety case milestones that were due in 2025. Positive progress in these areas led to the decision to further extend their lifetime, EDF said.
Heysham 2 and Torness, which are due to generate until March 2030, were given a two-year extension last year.
Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, said: “We believe in having a diversified energy system, with nuclear power playing a key role in ensuring stability and sustainability for decades to come.”
The Nuclear Industry Association welcomed the move. Its chief executive, Tom Greatrex, said: “The real opportunity ahead is even greater: by building new nuclear alongside these extensions, we can secure a clean, reliable and resilient power system for the long term.”
Centrica is among private investors that struck a deal worth more than £38bn with the UK government in July to invest in the Sizewell C site on the Suffolk coast, Britain’s biggest nuclear project in a generation. The deal, which will be paid for through taxes and energy bills, was the final go-ahead for construction, which has almost doubled in cost from when it was first proposed.
EDF is building Sizewell C, which is expected to generate enough low-carbon electricity to power 6m UK homes when it begins operating in the mid to late 2030s.
The twin-reactor nuclear project has attracted strong opposition from campaign groups such as Stop Sizewell C and Together Against Sizewell C, which argue it will have a devastating impact on Suffolk and its wildlife-rich coast.
On Tuesday, EDF said there was a “good opportunity” to extend the lifetime of neighbouring Sizewell B – which began generating electricity in 1995 – for a further 20 years from its 2035 end date, to 2055. However, it requires a “sustainable commercial model” before an investment decision is taken.
