Nuclear Industry UK

Section 3 - Current state of the nuclear industry in the UK.

All of the energy consumed in the UK is generated using different methods. Approximately 36% is
generated from gas, 38% from coal, and 4% from renewable sources. All of the nuclear power
stations in the UK produces 19% of the current demand. As well as the power generated from power
stations, 3% of UK electricity demand is met by imports of nuclear power from France, so overall UK
consumption of energy generated by nuclear power is about 22%. This works out that out of the 380
billion kWh of energy which is used in the UK each year, 69 billion kWh of energy is produced using
nuclear power.
In the UK there are 19 nuclear reactors, which generate power using one of 3 types of civil nuclear
reactors. There are 4 Magnox Reactors', 14 Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors' and only one
Pressurised Water Reactor'.
Magnox Reactors
Magnox reactors are named after magnesium-oxide, the alloy which is used to make the fuel can.
The fuel can is the container for the uranium fuel, which consists of pure uranium. Magnox reactors
work using a graphite moderator which are colled by using Co2 gas.
In some Magnox power plants, the boilers are located outside the concrete with reinforced steel
shield like the one below. In others the boilers are located inside the shield
Section 3 image 1
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Magnox_reactor_schematic.svg
There are 2 Nuclear power plants in the UK that currently use Magnox reactors, below is some
information on these plants.
Oldbury
Location: South Gloucestershire, England
Energy generated: 217 MWe
Start operation: 1968
Expected Shutdown: 2008
Wylfia
Location: Anglesey, Wales
Energy generated: 490 Mwe
Start operation: 1971
Expected Shutdown: 2010
Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors
AGRs use uranium clad steel cans use a graphite moderator and use C02 as the coolant. The
reactors work much the same as Magnox reactors although they work at a much higher temperature.
Because of these high temperatures, the vessel in which everything is held has to be made from
steel reinforced concrete which is several metres thick. The vessel also doubles as a biological
shield. Below is a diagram of an AGR.
Section 3 Image 2
http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/nuclear/technology/reactors/agrs/page27983.html
There are 6 Nuclear power plants in the UK that currently use Magnox reactors, below is some
information on these plants.
Dungeness
Location: Kent, England
Energy generated: 545 MWe
Start operation: 1985
Expected Shutdown: 2018
Hartlepool
Location: Hartlepool, England
Energy generated: 595 MWe
Start operation: 1984
Expected Shutdown: 2014
Heysham
Location: Morecambe, England
Energy generated: 615 MWe
Start operation: 1985
Expected Shutdown: 2014
Hinkley Point B
Location: Somerset, England
Energy generated: 1220 MWe
Start operation: 1976
Expected Shutdown: 2016
Hunterston
Location: North Ayrshire, Scotland
Energy generated: 1215 MWe
Start operation: 1976
Expected Shutdown: 2016
Toreness
Location: Torness, Scotland
Energy generated: 625 MWe
Start operation: 1988
Expected Shutdown: 2023
Pressurised Water Reactor
In PWRs the reactor is contained in a steel pressure vessel. They are different to the other reactors
because instead of having a graphite moderator and using CO2 to cool the system, pressurised
water is pumped around the reactor and through the boilers. The pressurised water works as both
the moderator and the coolant. The pressure vessel , boilers and connecting pipe work form the
circuit that generates power. All of this is contained inside a steel lines building that acts as the
biological shield. Below is a diagram of how a PWR works.
Section 3 Image 3
http://pulse.pharmacy.arizona.edu/resources/chemicals/nuclear.htm
There is only one plant in the UK that currently uses PWR technology to create energy. Below is
some information on this plant.
Sizewell B
Location: Suffolk, England
Energy generated: 1196 MWe
Start operation: 1995
Expected Shutdown: 2035
Springfields, Sellafield and Capenhurst
Springfields is located in Cumbria, its site was the first nuclear power plant in the UK which first
started generating power in 1956.
Nowadays it no longer generates energy. Instead, it is a uranium processing site. It processes
several thousands of tons of uranium a year which is distributed to the power plants around the UK
to be generated into energy. If you look at the nuclear cycle in section 2, Springfields would come
under number 4, the fuel fabrication section because this is the section which takes the pre-treated
uranium and processes it to make the fuel that is used in power plants
Sellafileds is the site which deals with treating used fuels. It takes the fuels that have been used
previously in power plants and stores them safely until they are to be recycled to be used again.
Sellafields comes under number 7 on the nuclear cycle from section 2, the Used Fuel Treatment
section, because it is in this section that the used fuel is kept until it is ready to be recycled and sent
back to the reactors to be once again generated into energy
Capenhurst is the site which helps deal with the decommissioning of old power plants, as previously
mentioned, nuclear power plants have a pre determined life expectancy. Once it reaches this age
then it is no longer safe to generate energy at this site. This is when capenhurst comes in.
capenhurst helps close down the power plant and safely get rid of all harmful materials. It then
demolishes redundant plants; if this is not done properly then it could be extremely unsafe.
Capenhurst is not directly linked to one of the parts of the nuclear cycle, once the cycle has repeated
itself as many times as it can do safely then it is time to close that specific plant, this is where
capenhurst comes in and decommissions the site safely.