Wylfa Reactor Extension to 2014
by J Roberts
The present Wylfa Nucleart Power Station on Anglesey could get an extension of its life to 2014, which would reduce the time between shut down and bringing Wylfa B on stream around 2020. In order to extend generation at Wylfa beyond the orignally agreed 2012 closure, Magnox have come up with an idea which would see transfer of unused fuel from Reactor 2 to Reactor 1. The current nuclear plant at Wylfa, near Cemaes will seek permission from the Office of Nuclear Responsibility (ONR) for this procedure. Of course, this is not the first time such a process was envisaged, with extension of Wylfa to 2014 first mooted by former site director Greg Evans about 2 years ago. Why is there such a challenge to extend the liufe of the plant? Essentially it is because the Magnox fuel used in the Anglesey reactors is no longer fabricated at Springfields, near Preston. So reducing generation to just one reactor and using up the unused fuel from Reactor 2 is the next best option. Normally the full generating capacity at Wylfa A is around 980 MW, and so should this proposal be accepted, there would still be around 490MW capacity after 2012. By then the proposed Wylfa B project operated by Horizon Nuclear Power, a joint venture between RWE and E.ON, should be gathering momentum of its own. For more local news and articles, subscribe to our free Anglesey Newsletter here. It's as easy as 1-2-3!
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