The
UK Department of Energy and Climate Change says nuclear plant life
extension announced by Electricite de France February 16 does not alter
the need for “urgent and speedy action” on new nuclear build in the UK.
EDF
Group said February 16 that it expects to extend the operating lives of
its 14 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) by an average of seven years
-- two years longer than its previous estimates of only last year.
Life
extension at EDF’s AGR fleet could retain the equivalent of at least
6.5 gigawatts of nuclear electrical capacity on the national grid,
equivalent to at least four 1,600-MW EPR reactors – more if Dungeness B
is included in the AGRs to obtain future life extension.
In
its national energy policy statements last year, DECC said it expected
to lose 10GW of nuclear power capacity on the grid over the next 20
years. However, EDF’s plans could significantly delay the loss of
existing nuclear capacity.
It
could mean the only nuclear capacity to be lost between now and 2021
could be the four Magnox reactors at Oldbury and Wylfa, all of which are
scheduled to close permanently this year, and Dungeness B.
Dungeness
B got a 10-year life extension in 2008 and is now scheduled to close in
2018, which would remove about 1GW from the grid.
Oldbury
and Wylfa together represent about 1.7GW at their design ratings. In
fact, they’ve been operating substantially below design rating and so
represent about 1.4 GW or less of actual capacity being lost.
In
a statement released with the EDF Group’s 2011 financial results
February 16, EDF said: “EDF Energy has completed a further technical
review of the potential life limiting plant areas. Subject to the
necessary formal reviews and approvals in due course, EDF Energy is now
expecting an average of 7 years across all of the Advanced Gas Reactor
(AGR) stations – including Heysham 1 and Hartlepool whose 5-year
extensions were announced in December 2010 - and 20 years for Sizewell
B.”
That
could mean that instead of decommissioning the AGRs between 2014 and
2023, as previously envisioned, the AGRs would start being
decommissioned in 2021, while some would continue operating through
2030.
Compared
to decommissioning them on their former schedules, life extension could
retain at least 6.5GW of nuclear electric capacity on the national
grid, not counting Dungeness. That figure also excludes Sizewell B,
which is not an AGR, but a pressurised water reactor.
With
seven-years added to their operating lives, there could still be 6.4GW
of AGR nuclear capacity operating in 2020 --comprising Heysham 2,
Hinkley B, Hunterston B, Torness, Hartlepool and Heysham 1 -- and at
least 2.4GW to 2030, comprising Heysham 2 and Torness.
The
UK Office for Nuclear Regulation do not have a separate, formal program
for decision-making on life extension and there is no specific consent
or approval required. Instead, life extension is considered within the
context of existing licensing requirements and the ONR’s 10-year
periodic safety reviews.
New nuclear needed
A
DECC spokesman said February 16 that the government is confident the
underlying analysis in the energy national policy statements is “robust
and the need for low carbon capacity including [new] nuclear remains.”
He
said the government has no plans to revise the NPSs. “The NPS need case
was…set out to ensure the Government can meet its carbon reduction
target of 80% by 2050 and the underlying evidence shows that nuclear
will be needed to achieve these legally binding targets alongside
significant demand-side reduction and investment in renewables and CCS
(carbon capture and storage),” the spokesman said.
EDF
is planning to build four new EPR reactors, two each at Hinkley Point
and Sizewell. “The first planning application for a new nuclear plant at
Hinkley has been received and it is anticipated, if consented, to be
operational from 2019,” the DECC spokesman said. “Plans for other sites
are on a slower trajectory which means most new plan[t]s will only be
operational from 2021/22 and thereafter,” he said.
“Given
the long period it takes to construct a new nuclear plant the need for
urgent and speedy action remains in line with our NPS need case,” the
DECC spokesman said.
An
EDF spokeswoman said February 16 that its plant life extension plans
“could play an important role to help minimise the amount of fossil
plant that will need to be built in the UK in the medium term” and would
also contribute to maintaining security of supply over the same period.
Even
with plant life extension, the EDF spokeswoman said, “most of the
existing plant, except Sizewell, will cease to operate in the 2020s and
will not contribute to the electricity mix in 2030.”
“New
nuclear offers reliable low carbon electricity generation at a time
when the UK is predicted to face a risk of potential shortfall in
electricity production,” the spokeswoman said. –David Stellfox
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