- Bradwell Power Station
Infobox UK power station
os_grid_reference=TM001087
latitude=51.741266
longitude=0.896879
country=England
region=East of England
shire_county=Essex
fuel=Nuclear
opened=1956
closed=2002Bradwell power station is a twin
Magnox reactor nuclearpower station now undergoingdecommissioning following shutdown at the end of March2002 after 40 years of operation. It is located on theDengie peninsula at the mouth of theRiver Blackwater inEssex ,England .Construction of Bradwell power station began in December
1957 and electricity generation started in1962 . It was one of eleven Magnox nuclear power stations commissioned in the United Kingdom between1956 and1971 . In 1966, twenty natural uranium fuel rods were stolen from Bradwell. [cite book|url=http://www.natcapsolutions.org/publications_files/BrittlePower/BrittlePower_Parts123.pdf|title=Brittle Power |pages=p. 146|author=Amory B. Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins|isbn=0-931790-49-2|publisher=Brick House Publishing Company]The station had 2 reactors, each rated at 121 MWe, and generated nearly 60
TW·h of electricity during its operational life. On a typical day it could supply enough electricity to meet the needs of three towns the size ofChelmsford ,Colchester and Southend put together.Bradwell was built on the edge of a former
World War II airfield, one and a half miles from the Essex coastline. Its location was deliberately chosen as the land had minimal agricultural value, offered easy access, was geologically sound and had an unlimited source of cooling water from theNorth Sea . In1999 , it was announced that the station would cease operation in2002 - the first UK station to be closed on a planned basis.This is one of the sites being considered by
British Energy for redevelopment in a new round of nuclear reactors. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7115002.stm|title=British Energy eyes nuclear sites|publisher=BBC Online |date=27 November 2007 ]References
External links
* [http://www.nuclearsites.co.uk/site.php?LocationID=4 British Nuclear Group]
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