Britain’s ageing Advanced Gas Cooled reactors kept running for as long as possible
Posted: 5th September 2025
Britain’s ageing Advanced Gas Cooled reactors may, like exhausted
racehorses, be on their last legs, but operator EDF Energy is clearly
intent on keeping them running for as long as possible. The company
announced yesterday a twelve month extension in operations at their Heysham
1 and Hartlepool AGR plants until March 2028, citing the retention of jobs
and a desire to contribute to the UK achieving net zero and energy security
– but the NFLAs suspect a more pressing motivation. In a comment to
industry media, NFLA Secretary Richard Outram said: ‘The EDF announcement
is unsurprising. Although company bosses may crow a lot about the
preservation of local jobs, the NFLAs suspect this is about the
preservation of EDF’s bottom line. ‘Given the parlous state of the
French parent company’s finances, the intermittent output of the domestic
fleet, and the vast overspend on Hinkley Point C, EDF have a clear
incentive to keep open for as long as possible any nuclear plant in their
portfolio which operates and generates profits.’ Dr Ian Fairlie, an
independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment and a former
advisor to the UK Government and European Parliament, is also sceptical as
to EDF’s motives: “The real reason why French parent company
Électricité de France wants to prolong the lives of their obsolete,
past-it, reactors is financial.
NFLA 3rd Sept 2025
https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/the-final-furlong-edf-announces-further-lifetime-extension-for-aging-agr-reactors/