Hunterston nuclear power plant
Hunterston nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United Kingdom with 4 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit A1 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 173 | 1964 |
| Unit A2 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 173 | 1964 |
| Unit B1 | Retired | GCR | AGR | 644 | 1976 |
| Unit B2 | Retired | GCR | AGR | 644 | 1977 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Hunterston nuclear power plant A1 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 173MW |
| Net capacity | 150MW |
| Thermal output | 595MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Oct 1957 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Aug 1963 |
| Grid connection | 5 Feb 1964 |
| Commercial operation | 5 Feb 1964 |
| Permanent shutdown | 30 Mar 1990 |
Hunterston nuclear power plant A2 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 173MW |
| Net capacity | 150MW |
| Thermal output | 595MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Oct 1957 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Mar 1964 |
| Grid connection | 1 Jun 1964 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jul 1964 |
| Permanent shutdown | 31 Dec 1989 |
Hunterston nuclear power plant B1 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | AGR |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 644MW |
| Net capacity | 490MW |
| Thermal output | 1,496MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | EDF Energy Ltd100% |
| Operator | EDF Energy |
| Construction start | 1 Nov 1967 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 31 Jan 1976 |
| Grid connection | 6 Feb 1976 |
| Commercial operation | 7 Feb 1976 |
| Permanent shutdown | 26 Nov 2021 |
Hunterston nuclear power plant B2 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | AGR |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 644MW |
| Net capacity | 495MW |
| Thermal output | 1,496MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | EDF Energy Ltd100% |
| Operator | EDF Energy |
| Construction start | 1 Nov 1967 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 27 Mar 1977 |
| Grid connection | 31 Mar 1977 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Apr 1977 |
| Permanent shutdown | 7 Jan 2022 |
Hunterston nuclear power plant in context
The 4 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 6.3 to 9.4 years (median 7.5) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1970s is 5.4 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Torness nuclear power plant (158 km), Heysham nuclear power plant (227 km) and Hartlepool nuclear power plant (265 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit A1 | 1957 | 1964 | 6.3 | 5.0 (1960s) |
| Unit A2 | 1957 | 1964 | 6.7 | 5.0 (1960s) |
| Unit B1 | 1967 | 1976 | 8.3 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit B2 | 1967 | 1977 | 9.4 | 5.4 (1970s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torness nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 158 km | 1.4 |
| Heysham nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 227 km | 2.6 |
| Hartlepool nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 265 km | 1.3 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Scotland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55.7200, -4.8975 |
| Elevation | about 5 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the sea coast, 0.2 km from the water |
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 4 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom) EDF Energy Ltd |
|---|---|
| Operators | Magnox EDF Energy |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data