ONR grants consent to decommission Hunterston B

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has granted consent to EDF Energy’s application to start decommissioning Hunterston B nuclear power station.

This decision comes after a public consultation and a detailed assessment by ONR specialist inspectors of EDF’s environmental statement.

The statement included a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed decommissioning project at the North Ayrshire site in Scotland, along with mitigation measures designed to prevent or reduce any significant adverse environmental impacts.

The EIA identified two significant impacts during decommissioning: temporary adverse visual impact of dismantling activities of the power station for local residents and the socioeconomic effects on the regional employment market and workers at Hunterston B released from their roles during phases of the project.

ONR is satisfied that the environmental statement proposes adequate mitigation measures to address these factors and considers the statement to be complete, of the right quality, and in line with relevant good practices.

The published project assessment report, which provides a detailed overview of ONR’s decision and public consultation response, are available to view.

ONR’s consent was given under the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations, 1999 (EIADR).

Ian Phillips, ONR’s Head of Safety Regulation for Decommissioning, Fuel and Waste sites, said: "We will continue to effectively and efficiently regulate the Hunterston B site proportionately throughout the entire decommissioning phase to ensure the licensee complies with all applicable legislation to safeguard workers and the public.”

In early 2022, Hunterston B reached the end of its operating life after nearly 46 years of generating electricity and moved into its defuelling phase.

During the last two-and-a-half years, nuclear fuel has been removed from the reactors and transported by rail to Sellafield in Cumbria for storage. Defuelling is expected to be completed in 2025.

After this, the nuclear site licence will transfer from EDF Energy to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. NRS will decommission the site, which will involve dismantling and demolishing the plant and buildings.

Currently, NRS is responsible for safely decommissioning 13 sites across the country, including the first generation of nuclear and research sites.