Hunterston A nuclear power station
- Hunterston A nuclear power station
Hunterston A nuclear power station was one of the United Kingdom's first generation of nuclear power stations. It was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 22 September 1964. It is located at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland, adjacent to Hunterston B, and is currently being decommissioned.
The station used two Magnox reactors and six 60MW generators to generate 360MW electrical output. When it opened, it was the largest civil nuclear power station in the world.fact|date=July 2008 During its service life (until 1990), it was normally at or near the top of international performance rankings.
The reactors used natural uranium fuel within a graphite core, and were cooled by carbon dioxide gas. Each reactor, which consisted of more than 3000 fuel channels, was enclosed in a steel pressure vessel. Eight boilers, known as Steam Raising Units, were located around each reactor. An outer building, mainly of glass, provided weather protection. The six 60MW generators were located in an adjoining turbine hall.
The Hunterston A reactor design was unique in that each was raised up to a height of over 10 metres to enable refuelling to take place from underneath. This meant that gravity assisted the process of used fuel removal, and avoided the need for lifting machinery to be inserted into the active core for on-load refuelling.
External links
* [http://www.hunterstonasite.co.uk Hunterston A Site]
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