Wylfa Nuclear Power Station | |
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Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
Location | Anglesey |
Coordinates | 53°25′01″N 4°28′59″W / 53.417°N 4.483°WCoordinates: 53°25′01″N 4°28′59″W / 53.417°N 4.483°W |
Status | Closed |
Construction began | 1963 |
Commission date | 1971 |
Decommission date | 2015 |
Owner(s) | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority |
Operator(s) | Magnox Ltd |
Nuclear power station | |
Reactor type | Magnox |
Reactor supplier | The Nuclear Power Group |
Power generation | |
Units decommissioned | 2 x 490 MW |
The shutdown Wylfa Nuclear Power Station (Welsh: Atomfa'r Wylfa) is situated just west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, North Wales. Its location on the coast provided a cooling source for its operation.
Wylfa houses two 490 MW Magnox nuclear reactors, "Reactor 1" and "Reactor 2", which were built from 1963 and became operational in 1971.
Reactor 2 was retired in 2012, and on 30 December 2015, Reactor 1 was also shut down, after more than 44 years of operating.
The construction of the power station, which was undertaken by British Nuclear Design & Construction (BNDC), a consortium backed by English Electric, Babcock & Wilcox Ltd and Taylor Woodrow Construction, began in 1963. The reactors were supplied by The Nuclear Power Group (TNPG) and the turbines by English Electric.
It was the second nuclear power station to be built in Wales, after Trawsfynydd. Following the closure of Trawsfynydd in 1991, Wylfa became the only nuclear power station in Wales.
Wylfa houses two 490 MW Magnox nuclear reactors, "Reactor 1" and "Reactor 2", which were built from 1963 and became operational in 1971. Wylfa typically supplied 23 GW h of electricity daily when they were both in service. These were the largest and last Magnox-type reactors to be built in the UK. Wylfa was the second British nuclear power station, following Oldbury, to have a pre-stressed concrete pressure vessel instead of steel for easier construction and enhanced safety.