Heysham nuclear power plant

Heysham nuclear power plant in context

By gross operating capacity Heysham nuclear power plant is the 1st largest of 4 operating nuclear sites in the United Kingdom, holding 40% of the country's operating capacity, and ranks 55th of 172 worldwide.

Its operating units started up in 1989; the median unit is 37.0 years old, the same as the median in the United Kingdom.

The 4 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 7.9 to 13.9 years (median 10.4) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1980s is 7.3 years.

The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Hartlepool nuclear power plant (131 km) and Torness nuclear power plant (218 km).

4 operating units are rated differently now from their design net capacities: Unit A1 -20.6%, Unit A2 -5.9%, Unit B1 +0.8% and Unit B2 +0.8%.

The tracker lists a planned retirement year, a forecast and not a decision on record, for 2 operating units: Unit A1 (2028) and Unit A2 (2028).

Build time by unit

Nearest tracked nuclear sites

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.