| Heysham nuclear power station | |
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Heysham 1 & 2 |
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| Country | England |
| Location | Heysham, Lancashire |
| Coordinates | |
| Commission date | 1989 |
| Operator(s) | British Energy |
| Power station information | |
| Primary fuel | Nuclear |
| grid reference SD4000459632 | |
Heysham Power Station is a nuclear power station located in Heysham, Lancashire, England, operated by British Energy. The site is divided into two separately-managed stations, Heysham 1 and Heysham 2, both of the advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) type, with two reactors each. In January 2009, EDF Energy bought out British Energy, and the Heysham sites have now been made into EDF Energy existing nuclear sites.
On 18 October 2010 the British government announced that Heysham was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.[1]
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Construction of Heysham 1, which was undertaken by British Nuclear Design & Construction ('BNDC'), a consortium backed by English Electric, Babcock International Group and Taylor Woodrow Construction,[2] began in 1970, with the first reactor commencing operations in 1983 and the second reactor following in 1984. However, initial production levels were low, and full commercial operation was only declared in 1989. It is likely to remain in operation until 2019. Its generating capacity is 1150 MWe. The reactors were supplied by National Nuclear Corporation and the turbines by GEC.[3]
Heysham 1 shares its reactor design with Hartlepool power station, which introduced the replaceable pod boiler design. The CEGB specified a compact design for the Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power station reactor islands in comparison to the design of the two preceding stations at Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B in order to reduce the capital cost, but this caused expensive construction delays because of restricted access. The lesson was learned and the Heysham 2 reactor island occupies a much larger footprint than Heysham 1 for a similar design output of power.
The construction, which was undertaken by a consortium known as National Nuclear Corporation ('NNC'),[2] began in 1979 and the station opened in 1988. Its generating capacity is 1250 MWe, and it is estimated to keep running until at least 2023. Heysham 2 shares its reactor design with Torness nuclear power station and is a development of the reactor design used at Hinkley Point B. The reactors were supplied by NNC and the turbines by NEI.[3]
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