EDF Energy has confirmed it will begin shutting down the two gas-cooled reactors at Hinkley Point B nuclear power station in southwest England within the next two years, earlier than scheduled.
The defueling of the two plants, Hinkley Point B-1 and Hinkley Point B-2, will begin no later than July 2022, according to the French energy group.
The shutdown was scheduled for 2023, but cracks were discovered in the graphite core of the reactor. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Hinkley Point B-1 began commercial operation in October 1978 and Hinkley Point B-2 in September 1976.
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