Torness nuclear power station

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Torness Nuclear Power Station

Torness nuclear power station is a nuclear power station located 5 miles (8 km) south east of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. It is a local landmark, highly visible from the main A1 road and East Coast Mainline. Torness was the last of the United Kingdom's second generation nuclear power plants to be commissioned. Construction of this facility began in 1980 for the then South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) and it was commissioned in 1988. The station consists of two Advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) capable of producing a peak rating of 1364 MWe. Although designed to be refueled without being shut down, because of deficiencies in the fuel handling facilities identified during the commissioning process Torness was restricted to refuelling with the reactors shut down until 1996.

Upon deregulation of the United Kingdom's electricity generation market it passed to the state-owned Scottish Nuclear Group, now part of British Energy.

In November 1999 an RAF Panavia Tornado crashed into the North Sea less than 1km from the power station following an engine failure. The UK Ministry of Defence commended the two crew members for demonstrating "exceptional levels of airmanship and awareness in the most adverse of conditions"; they ensured that the Tornado was clear of the power station before abandoning the aircraft [1].