Half of the UK's reactors offline

The nuclear industry continues to show failings in reliability by shutting down nearly half of the UK’s reactor fleet for maintenance this week, even as the Government finalises its consultation on a new generation of British nuclear power.
 

British Energy was forced to admit that seven of the UK’s 19 nuclear reactors had been shut down: five for routine maintenance, two on the discovery of internal faults.

Hartlepool and Heysham were closed due to an ‘issue with wire winding’, which could delay their reopening even further.

Former environment secretary Michael Meacher described the situation as ‘extremely worrying’.

He told the BBC that when it comes to energy delivery, ‘One needs certainty, and the nuclear industry doesn’t provide it.’

This article first appeared in the Ecologist October 2007

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