Oldbury 2 Nuclear Plant Gets Life Extension

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The Oldbury 2 nuclear plant has won a life extension until June 30 from the U.K.'s nuclear regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII).

The plant, which is on the south bank of the Severn River in South Gloucestershire, England, is one of two operating reactors at the site owned by Magnox Limited (Warrington, England), which oversees 10 nuclear sites in the country. Oldbury 2 was due to shut down this month, but the 217-megawatt (MW) Magnox reactor will continue operating until the end of June, when it will be shut down along with Oldbury 1.

"As a result of excellent operation and maintenance by our experienced staff, the plant and equipment are in very good condition," said Phil Sprague, the Oldbury site director. "We have worked hard with each of our regulators, and they have no objection to extended generation on Reactor 2. We are pleased that this work has been successful and that we will continue to contribute to the country's electricity supply, as we have done for over 40 years."

The closure of the old plants will make way for the construction of new nuclear plants. Horizon Nuclear Power (Gloucester, England), a joint venture between the U.K. subsidiaries of energy majors RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) and E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), plans to build a nuclear facility in Oldbury with a generating capacity of about 3,300 MW. Horizon already has awarded contracts for preliminary work at the Wylfa site in north Wales, where it plans to construct a plant with similar generating capacity. For additional information, see August 4, 2010, article - Preliminary Work Begins on U.K. Nuclear Plant.

In October, the Wylfa nuclear power plant in Wales was thrown a lifeline by being allowed to operate until at least 2012, having originally been scheduled for closure last December. For additional information, see October 14, 2010, article - Welsh Nuclear Plant Gets Two-Year Lifeline.

In related news, the U.K. government has announced the creation of a new nuclear regulator. The proposed Office for Nuclear Regulation will come into effect on April 1, and will take over the roles of numerous existing groups. These include the NII, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, the U.K. Safeguards Office and the Department for Transport's Radioactive Materials Transport Team.

Minister for Employment Chris Grayling said: "The proposal will not affect the current regulatory requirements or standards with which industry must comply, and the vast majority of the costs of the regulator would continue to be recovered in charges from operators in the nuclear industry, rather than funded by the public purse. Additional organizational costs will be entirely met by the nuclear industry."

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