Hunterston B Power Station

(asked on 1st February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his department holds on the planned shutdown date is for Hunterston (B) nuclear power station; what estimate his department has made of the average electricity generation capacity of that power station; and what plans his Department has to replace that capacity.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 9th February 2021

The shutdown of nuclear power stations is a matter for the operator and the Office for Nuclear Regulation. EDF Energy’s published closure dates and the generating capacity for these stations is set out in the following table.

Power station

EDF Energy’s published closure date

Generating capacity

Hunterston B

2022

965 MW

Hinkley Point B

2022

955 MW

Hartlepool

2024

1,180 MW

Heysham 1

2024

1,155 MW

Dungeness B

2028

1,050 MW

Torness

2030

1,185 MW

Heysham 2

2030

1,230 MW

As set out in the government’s Energy White Paper, to meet our target of net zero emissions by 2050, we will need to have a significant expansion of renewable generation complemented by nuclear power, carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and flexibility providing technologies.

We also have the capacity market mechanism which ensures the right incentives are in place to deliver the level of electricity required.

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