Oldbury nuclear power plant
Oldbury nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United Kingdom with 5 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit A1 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 230 | 1967 |
| Unit A2 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 230 | 1968 |
| Unit B1 | Cancelled | PWR | AP-1000 | 1,100 | - |
| Unit B2 | Cancelled | PWR | AP-1000 | 1,100 | - |
| Unit B3 | Cancelled | PWR | AP-1000 | 1,100 | - |
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.
Oldbury nuclear power plant A1 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 230MW |
| Net capacity | 217MW |
| Thermal output | 730MWt |
| 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 May 1962 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Aug 1967 |
| Grid connection | 7 Nov 1967 |
| Commercial operation | 31 Dec 1967 |
| Permanent shutdown | 29 Feb 2012 |
Oldbury nuclear power plant A2 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 230MW |
| Net capacity | 217MW |
| Thermal output | 660MWt |
| 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 May 1962 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Dec 1967 |
| Grid connection | 6 Apr 1968 |
| Commercial operation | 30 Sep 1968 |
| Permanent shutdown | 30 Jun 2011 |
Oldbury nuclear power plant B1 Cancelled
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | AP-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,100MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| Cancelled | 2019 |
| Owner | Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd100% |
| Milestones | no dates on record |
|---|
Oldbury nuclear power plant B2 Cancelled
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | AP-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,100MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| Cancelled | 2019 |
| Owner | Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd100% |
| Milestones | no dates on record |
|---|
Oldbury nuclear power plant B3 Cancelled
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | AP-1000 |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,100MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| Cancelled | 2019 |
| Owner | Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd100% |
| Milestones | no dates on record |
|---|
Oldbury nuclear power plant in context
The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 5.5 to 5.9 years (median 5.7) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1960s is 5.0 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Hinkley Point nuclear power plant (63 km), Flamanville nuclear power plant (240 km) and Heysham nuclear power plant (266 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit A1 | 1962 | 1967 | 5.5 | 5.0 (1960s) |
| Unit A2 | 1962 | 1968 | 5.9 | 5.0 (1960s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinkley Point nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 63 km | - |
| Flamanville nuclear power plant | France | 240 km | 4.4 |
| Heysham nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 266 km | 2.6 |
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 | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.6485, -2.5708 |
| Elevation | about 30 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the sea coast, 0.3 km from the water |
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 2 Cancelled: 3 |
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) Horizon Nuclear Power Ltd |
|---|---|
| Operators | Magnox |
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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