The two months maintenance programme includes replacing gas circulators that help to cool the reactor, and also replacing some of the site’s turbines

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The maintenance shutdown is expected to support the station’s plan to run until 2030. (Credit: EDF Energy)

EDF Energy has announced a £25m ($33m) maintenance programme for the second unit of Heysham 2 nuclear power station near Lancaster, England.

The two months maintenance programme includes replacing gas circulators that help to cool the reactor, and also replacing some of the site’s turbines.

The reactor was turned off on 31 January this year and 750 employees of the plant will be doubled during the maintenance shutdown which is expected to support the station’s plan to run until 2030.

The Heysham 2 nuclear power station started generating electricity in 1988.  Featuring two advanced gas-cooled reactors, the power station has a capacity of 1,230MW.

EDF Energy said that most of the extra staff will be from Heysham, Morecambe and Lancaster stations while people from UK will stay near the area during the shutdown.

The two nuclear reactors of Heysham 2 generate enough electricity to power two million homes

Heysham 2 station director Mark Lees said: “These eight-week shutdowns are a key part of station life and support our plans to run for at least another decade.

“As engineers we look forward to getting our hands on the plant to safely carry out maintenance and inspections.

“The shutdowns, which take around two years to plan, allow us to get into places we can’t when we are operating – including inside the reactor itself.”

The investment used during the maintenance shutdowns is a part of the firm’s annual maintenance programme which sees over £500m ($660m) invested in the EDF’s eight existing nuclear power stations across the UK.

The two nuclear reactors of Heysham 2 generate enough electricity to power about two million homes, which is equivalent to offsetting around eight million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

EDF Energy has 10 nuclear power stations that include Dungeness B, Hartlepool, Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hinkley Point B, Hunterston B, Sizewell B, Torness, West Burton A and B, and West Burton C.