Sizewell B nuclear power station
| Sizewell B nuclear power station | |
|
|
|
  |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Operator: | British Energy |
| Fuel: | Nuclear 1,195MW |
| Commissioned: | 1995 |
Sizewell B nuclear power station is the UK's only large pressurised water reactor (PWR). It is located near the small fishing village of Sizewell and operated by British Energy.
Built between 1988 and 1995, the original rating was for an output of 1188 MWe, equivalent to 8.7 TWh in the year of 2005. It was uprated by 1% in 2005 with a thermal power of 3479 MW and an electrical output of 1195 MWe, though this is dependent on sea-water temperature.
In the first ten years of Sizewell B's operation, producing 3% of the UK's electricity, it avoided the release of around 60
million tonnes of greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been released by
As with many other PWRs, Sizewell 'B' operates on an 18-month operating Cycle, i.e. at or near 100% output continuously for around 17 months, followed by a month's shutdown for maintenance and refuelling.
Sizewell B was designed for a commercial life of 40 years — i.e., to around 2035 — but similar stations elsewhere have been granted extensions to 60 years.
Sizewell used to run a popular visitor program, whereby the public could take guided tours through the turbine halls and around the reactor area of Sizewell B, as well as around the Sizewell A building. It had a small science museum type visitors' centre. The program was shutdown citing security fears following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks [2].
A distinctive white dome protects the pressurised water reactor.
See also
- Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
- Energy policy of the United Kingdom
- Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
External links
- British Energy — Sizewell B
- Gallery: Sizewell B from the BBC
- Living with Sizewell B and Sizewell B given 10 more years from BBC News
| Nuclear power in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Magnox reactors | Berkeley (closed) • Bradwell (closed) • Calder Hall (closed) • Chapelcross (closed) • Dungeness A (closed) • Hunterson A (closed) • Hinkley Point A (closed) • Oldbury • Sizewell A (closed) • Wylfa |
| Advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) | Dungeness B • Hartlepool • Heysham Stage 1 • Heysham Stage 2 • Hinkley Point B • Hunterston B • Torness |
| Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) | Sizewell B |
| Fast breeder reactors | Dounreay |
| Nuclear re-processing locations | Sellafield |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
