Today (10am, 1 August) Reactor 3 at the Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant will cease generation for the last time. After the closure of Reactor 4 last month, this will finally bring all electricity production at the Somerset site to a halt.
Although there were calls for the plant to be granted a lifetime extension, recent revelations about the extent of graphite core cracking at Hinkley Point B have convinced the Nuclear Free Local Authorities that EDF Energy made the right call in sticking to its closure plan, and the NFLA fears that core cracking will increasingly compromise the safety of Britain’s remaining aging Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors if their operating lifetimes are further extended.
More >> NFLA media release, 1 August 2022, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/graphite-cracking-continued-cause-for-concern-on-day-hinkley-point-b-closes/