The UK’s next wave of nuclear decommissioning has moved a step closer after the regulator signed off the transfer of Hunterston B to public sector control ahead of full dismantling.
Government decommissioning body, Nuclear Restoration Services will take over ownership of the North Ayrshire reactor from EDF on 1 April.
This will be the first Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor station to enter formal decommissioning – marking a major shift as Britain begins retiring its second-generation nuclear fleet.
Seven AGR stations were built across England and Scotland, as successors to the earlier Magnox designs, with most scheduled to close by 2028.
Hunterston B is the first to formally pass into the hands of Nuclear Restoration Services, the decommissioning arm of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Further sites will follow on a rolling basis once defuelling is complete.
Hunterston B stopped generating in January 2022 after 46 years in service and will now move into a complex, multi-stage dismantling programme.