Rising gas prices and the war in Ukraine have already prompted the government to urge coal-fired power plant owners to remain more open, and ministers have also reconsidered their strong opposition to fracking amid concerns about energy supply. There is a growing sense in the nuclear industry and its proponents that Kwarteng could also be persuaded to support an extension of up to 18 months to the life of Hinkley Point B, which is set to cut off electricity this summer. Such a plan, which will go hand in hand with Boris Johnson’s support for new nuclear power plants in the recent energy security plan, will retain 1 GW of electricity in the Grid in the short term, replacing the need for gas production for up to 1.5 million homes. . . Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, whose Bridgwater and West Somerset constituencies include Hinkley, said he had spoken to Kwarteng about the possibility and was “definitely” open to it. “Quasi is not a fool,” he said. “He understands the stress and pressures we go through and that we need to see what we can. They are fully aware of what [Hinkley] Station B is capable. She is big but she is in good health “. Hinkley’s owner, EDF Energy, had to create a safety case to extend the life of a grid-connected power station in 1976, the closure of which had previously been postponed for seven years in 2012. The EDF will have to prove to the Nuclear Regulatory Office (ONR) that the aging toner rods in the plant’s reactors could be inserted, even in the event of a massive and unprecedented earthquake, to avoid a nuclear accident. A nuclear industry source said there was a “six-week window” left during which EDF could make the case in time for the ONR to issue a safety verdict and postpone its scheduled end. Hinkley Power Plant on July 15. Greg Hunts, a junior minister in Kwarteng Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), visited Hinckley last week. Engineers there apparently told Hands they were waiting for the plant to close as planned. However, a nuclear industry source said that while engineers were naturally focused on shutdown plans in which they worked for many months, senior EDF executives were likely to be more open about extending Hinckley’s life. The ONR will ultimately decide if such a plan could go ahead, but Kwarteng approval is crucial. This is because EDF would incur significant costs in setting up a security case for expansion and they should be confident that ministers would not hinder it. EDF declined to comment on whether it planned to do so. BEIS said it had not discussed such a proposal. “The [extending Hinkley] “It would prevent you from importing a piece of gas,” said the nuclear industry source. The Guardian also understands that Torness, near Dunbar, and Heysham 2 in Lancashire could leave the network sooner than expected, depending on regular assessments of the condition of their toner bars. Their withdrawal has already accelerated, with EDF saying earlier this year that they would stop producing in 2028 rather than 2030. In theory, any one-year-old plant could replace more than 1 billion cubic meters of gas imports. While nuclear power is traditionally expensive, the extremely high price of gas in recent months, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, means that the ρες 45 per megawatt hour EDF receives from its nuclear contract is significantly lower than wholesale prices. in the energy market. The unions Prospect and GMB have also called for an extension of the life of Britain’s nuclear fleet. The pressure on Kwarteng to signal to the EDF that the government would support plans to keep Hinkley Point B open comes amid concerns that the capacity of the British nuclear fleet could be reduced even faster than we thought. Based on current forecasts for the withdrawal of reactors and the construction of new ones, the UK’s nuclear capacity will be reduced from 5.8 GW today to 4.4 GW in 2028, taking into account the construction of the Hinkley Point C and the end of life of Torness and Heysham. However, the 2028 completion date for the Hinkley Point C, which has already exceeded the budget and schedule, is under consideration, with a forecast expected this summer.
