Closing of EDF Hunterston B nuclear power plant in Scotland after 46 years

LONDON (Reuters) – The EDF said it was shutting down Scotland’s Hunterston B nuclear power plant as scheduled on Friday, which had been in operation for 46 years and generated enough electricity to supply electricity to about 1.7 million homes. used to do.

The French group announced the closure of the plant in April 2020, while half of the British nuclear fleet will be shut down over the next four years as it reaches the end of the cycle.

Great Britain is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, an objective that forces it to increase its production of wind, solar and nuclear power.

However, the projects were intended to replace nuclear power plants at the end of their cycle, due to large quantities being delivered upstream, against funding concerns.

EDF, through its British subsidiary and in partnership with the Chinese conglomerate CGN (China General Nuclear Power), has launched the first project for a new nuclear power plant in Great Britain in more than two decades.

Hinckley Point C, which has an estimated cost of between 24.8 billion and 26 billion euros, is expected to enter service in 2026.

(Report Susannah Twidel; French version Jean Terzien)