Dungeness B nuclear power station is to stay open beyond its scheduled closing date of 2018, its owner, EDF, has announced.
The ageing reactor, on the south Kent coast, had been due to decommission in 2018 but will now remain until 2028 as a result of £150m extra investment.
Work on building Dungeness B began in 1965 and it began generating electricity in 1983.
It employs 550 people plus 200 contract staff and six apprentices a year.
The plant had initially been scheduled to close in 2008, but its then operator, British Energy, extended its life by 10 years.
In 2009 the government announced that Dungeness B was not on its list of potential sites for new nuclear reactors, effectively reaffirming its closure date of 2018.
‘Significant investment’
But now EDF says its additional investment of £15m a year means the plant can continue operating safely for a further 10 years.
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The present government regards nuclear energy as a safe and relatively low-cost way of securing the UK’s energy supplies well into the middle of the century and reducing reliance on carbon-based energy.
While environmental campaigners are concerned about the risks associated with nuclear-powered generators, there has been a lot of support in Kent and East Sussex for the continued operation of Dungeness B because of job security and related economic benefits.
Read more at Dungeness B nuclear power station given 10-year reprieve
