The Office for Nuclear Regulation in Britain has granted a 10-year extension to the Sizewell B power station in eastern England, which began commercial operations in 1995.
The extension allows the plant to operate until 2025, when it will need another operating extension. Plant managers have already said they will expect to have the plant running until 2055.
The review just completed was the plant's second. The review process alone takes five years of preparation with about 200 workers dedicated to getting the plant ready for the inspection, said station Director Jim Crawford.
The plant has a full time staff of 550 workers and 250 contractors. It is Britain's only large pressurized water reactor (PWR). A fact sheet says the plant has generated 173 terawatt hours of low carbon electricity in its years of operation, eliminating what would have been 117 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, about the equivalent amount of harmful pollution created by every car in Britain for 1.8 years.
“We are pleased that the station will continue to safely generate low carbon power for over two million customers here at Sizewell B,” Crawford said, as quoted by the East Anglian Daily Times.
The plant's operator is Electricite de France (EDF).