Space Travel News
CIVIL NUCLEAR
Ageing UK nuclear plants to run longer: operators
Ageing UK nuclear plants to run longer: operators
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Sept 2, 2025

Two British nuclear power plants nearing the end of their lifespan will run for an extra year, its operators announced Tuesday, helping with UK energy security and net zero targets.

The Heysham 1 plant in northwest England and the Hartlepool facility in the northeast will continue generating energy until March 2028, an increase of one year, main operator EDF said in a statement.

The French company's announcement was confirmed by its British partner Centrica following "positive inspections".

"A further year of operation for these two stations has the potential to power more than four million homes," said Mark Hartley, managing director of EDF's nuclear operations.

"It secures employment ... for more than 1,000 people who work at those sites, and it supports the UK's ambitions to have a clean, secure electricity supply," he added.

Centrica said the stations reduced fossil fuel needs, while "supporting the UK's ambitions to have a clean, secure energy supply".

There is no change to the expected closure in March 2030 of two other plants, Heysham 2 and Torness.

Britain's fifth nuclear plant, Sizewell B, could keep operating until 2055, EDF noted Tuesday.

The facilities will eventually be replaced by new nuclear power plants.

The UK government in July gave Sizewell C the final go-ahead after reaching a deal with investors, aiming to bolster net zero and energy security goals.

The plant is not expected to start generating electricity until the late 2030s.

EDF is involved in constructing Sizewell C and another new UK plant, Hinkley Point C.

The UK has refocused on shoring up nuclear power since the start of the war in Ukraine, in the name of energy security and faced with a fleet of ageing power stations.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has also pledged by 2035 to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 81 percent on 1990 levels, under plans to reach net zero by 2050.

The use of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial, however, with many environmental groups warning about safety risks and the disposal of nuclear waste.

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CIVIL NUCLEAR
Sweden seeks to lift ban on uranium mining in nuclear energy push
Stockholm (AFP) Aug 27, 2025
The Swedish government wants to lift a ban on uranium mining to reduce its reliance on imports as it pursues its first nuclear power expansion in half a century, the environment minister said Wednesday. The previous social democrat government banned uranium mining in 2018 due to concerns of water contamination and high operating costs, but the current right-wing administration is building new reactors to help shift away from fossil fuels. Sweden's deposits represent around 27 percent of Euro ... read more

CIVIL NUCLEAR
CIVIL NUCLEAR
Preparing rock analysis methods on Earth for future Mars samples

Signs of recent life on Mars could be detected using new simple test

Martian fractures reveal ancient forces and icy flows

Perseverance Rover Delivers Most Detailed Mars Panorama Yet

CIVIL NUCLEAR
LunaGrid Lite advances toward lunar power transmission milestone

NASA opens next round in Moon recycling challenge

Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, dies at 97

NASA to unveil last piece of hardware for the Artemis II Orion mission

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Jupiter birth dated through ancient molten rock droplets in meteorites

New Horizons begins record hibernation in Kuiper Belt

Jupiter core mystery not explained by giant planetary impact

Alien aurora: Researchers discover new plasma wave in Jupiter's aurora

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Model brings clarity to water rich exoplanets called steam worlds

Mapping star spots with NASA missions offers new insight into exoplanets

TRAPPIST-1 d ruled out as Earth twin by Webb study

Planets without water could still produce certain liquids

CIVIL NUCLEAR
SpaceX scrubs latest Starship launch due to bad weather

NASA targets sounding rocket's night launch for TOMEX+ Earth study

SpaceX delays Starship megarocket launch in latest setback

Rocket Lab Prepares 70th Electron Mission for August Launch

CIVIL NUCLEAR
AI assistant supports Chinese space station astronauts

Spacesuit milestone reached with 20 spacewalks on Chinese station

Shenzhou 20 crew prepares for third spacewalk in coming days

Astronaut crew tests new generation spacewalk suits and conducts health research aboard Tiangong

CIVIL NUCLEAR
Bennu samples reveal shifting asteroid colors as planetary scientist links spectra to surface ages

Asteroid family link strengthened by SwRI analysis of Bennu and Ryugu

Two different types of asteroids may actually share same origin story

Ceres once held deep energy reserves that may have supported life

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.