Hunterston A nuclear power station
Encyclopedia
Hunterston A nuclear power station was a Magnox
power station
located at Hunterston
in Ayrshire
, Scotland
, adjacent to Hunterston B and is currently being decommissioned
.
reactors capable of generating 180 MWe each. The reactors were supplied by GEC and the turbines by C.A. Parsons & Company. The main civil engineering contractor was Mowlem
.
The Magnox
reactors used natural uranium
fuel (in magnox alloy 'cans') 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.
In later years of operation the reactors were derated to 150 MWe each. This was to slow the magnox can corrosion at the original higher temperatures.
into Scottish Power
and Scottish Nuclear
.
. As part of the privatisation of the Scottish electricity generators, Hunterston A was transferred (with the adjacent Hunterston B
to the new state owned company Scottish Nuclear
. In 1996 upon privatisation of the UK nuclear industry, the site was transferred, this time on its own to the state-owned Magnox Electric. In April 2005, the NDA
took over ownership and place the site with its Site Licence company, Magnox North Ltd.
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
located at Hunterston
Hunterston
Hunterston, by the Firth of Clyde, is a coastal area in Ayrshire, Scotland, which is the seat and estate of the Hunter family. As an area of flat land adjacent to deep natural water, it has been the site of considerable actual and proposed industrial development in the 20th century. The nearest...
in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, adjacent to Hunterston B and is currently being decommissioned
Nuclear decommissioning
Nuclear decommissioning is the dismantling of a nuclear power plant and decontamination of the site to a state no longer requiring protection from radiation for the general public...
.
History
Construction of the power station, which was undertaken by a consortium of GEC and Simon Carves, began in 1957 and the facility was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on 22 September 1964. Hunterston A had two MagnoxMagnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
reactors capable of generating 180 MWe each. The reactors were supplied by GEC and the turbines by C.A. Parsons & Company. The main civil engineering contractor was Mowlem
Mowlem
Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:Founded by John Mowlem in 1822, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. It acquired SGB Group in...
.
The Magnox
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
reactors used natural uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
fuel (in magnox alloy 'cans') within a graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
core, and were cooled by carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
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.
In later years of operation the reactors were derated to 150 MWe each. This was to slow the magnox can corrosion at the original higher temperatures.
Shutdown and decommisioning
Hunterston A closed in 1990, with Reactor 2 shutting down on 31 December 1989 and Reactor 1 on 31 March 1990, immediately prior to the splitting of SSEBSouth of Scotland Electricity Board
The South of Scotland Electricity Board , was formed as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954. On 1 April 1955, the two southern Scottish Area Electricity Boards were merged into the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
into Scottish Power
Scottish Power
ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
and Scottish Nuclear
Scottish Nuclear
Scottish Nuclear was formed as a precursor to the privatization of the Electricity Supply Industry in Scotland on 1 April 1990. It consisted of the nuclear assets of the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
.
Ownership
From construction to closure in March 1990, the power station was owned and operated by South of Scotland Electricity BoardSouth of Scotland Electricity Board
The South of Scotland Electricity Board , was formed as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954. On 1 April 1955, the two southern Scottish Area Electricity Boards were merged into the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
. As part of the privatisation of the Scottish electricity generators, Hunterston A was transferred (with the adjacent Hunterston B
Hunterston B nuclear power station
Hunterston B Power Station is a nuclear power station in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located about 9 km south of Largs and about 4 km north-west of West Kilbride. It is operated by EDF Energy...
to the new state owned company Scottish Nuclear
Scottish Nuclear
Scottish Nuclear was formed as a precursor to the privatization of the Electricity Supply Industry in Scotland on 1 April 1990. It consisted of the nuclear assets of the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
. In 1996 upon privatisation of the UK nuclear industry, the site was transferred, this time on its own to the state-owned Magnox Electric. In April 2005, the NDA
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom formed by the Energy Act 2004. It came into existence in late 2004, and took on its main functions on 1 April 2005...
took over ownership and place the site with its Site Licence company, Magnox North Ltd.