Hunterston B nuclear power station

Infobox UK power station
static_

static_image_caption = The Hunterston B AGR reactor building is on the left. On the right are the old Hunterston A reactor buildings.
country = Scotland
unitary_scotland= North Ayrshire
os_grid_reference = NS183514
latitude = 55.72209
longitude = -4.89009
operator = British Energy
fuel = Nuclear
fuel_capacity = 1,190MW (but see note) [http://www.british-energy.com/pagetemplate.php?pid=90 "Hunterson B", British Energy] ]

opened = 1976

Hunterston B Power Station is a nuclear power station in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located about 9km south of Largs and about 4km north-west of West Kilbride. It is operated by British Energy. Its net electrical output is 1,215 MW. Operating at its current (May 2008) reduced level of around 70% of full output, Hunterston B is capable of supplying the electricity needs of over 1 million homes.

It started generating electricity on 6 February 1976. On 3 December1977 The Times reported [The Times, Saturday, Dec 03, 1977; pg. 1; Issue 60177; col D] that seawater had entered the reactor through a modification of the secondary cooling system. The secondary cooling system uses fresh water to cool various items including the bearings of the gas circulators, which circulate the carbon dioxide (CO₂) coolant through the reactor to the boilers. A small leak of CO₂ through a seal had developed, and a bypass pipe was installed to remove the water contaminated with CO₂ to the seawater cooling ponds. When maintenance work was carried out on the reactor and the pressure in the gas cooling system was reduced, sea water was able to flow back up this bypass pipe and into the reactor. The residual heat of the reactor was such that the seawater evaporated rapidly, leaving deposits of salt in the reactor around the gas circuit. It was estimated at the time that the reactor could be out of operation for a year, that the repairs could cost £14 million, and that electricity tariffs would have to rise by between 1 and 2 per cent. Extensive modelling work was performed in the Nuclear Power Company's (NPC) Whetstone, Leicestershire, fluid flow laboratories to determine where the salt would have been deposited, and the salt was successfully removed by technicians using vacuum cleaners and the plant returned to operation.

It is currently scheduled to be decommissioned in 2016. [ [http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Energy/Briefing/2007/12/11/scotlands_hunterston_b_to_work_until_16/2920/ "Scotland's Hunterston B to work until 2016", UPI, 11 December 2007] ]

The graphite moderator core in each of the twin advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) at Hunterston B has recently developed structural problems in the form of cracking of the bricks. [ [http://www.largeassociates.com/3154%20Graphite%20AGR/R3154-Graphite%20FINAL%2028%2006%2006.pdf Large and Associates. "Brief Review of the Documents Relating to the Graphite Moderator Cores at Hinkley Point B and Other Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors", R3154 5 July 2006] ]

The nearby Hunterston A twin Magnox reactor buildings are now being decommissioned.

References

ee also

*Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
*Energy policy of the United Kingdom
*Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom