The process for completing defueling at Magnox's Oldbury power station has been delayed until 2016, while initially the process was scheduled to complete in June 2015.
The process for completing defueling at Magnox’s Oldbury power station has been delayed until 2016, while initially the process was scheduled to complete in June 2015.
The spent fuel retrieved from nuclear reactors in the UK will be delivered to Sellafield site in Cumbria for reprocessing.
Oldbury deputy director Rob Ledger said the defueling work will take place on priority because of the limitations on the amount of Magnox fuel that can be stored at the reprocessing facilities.
"This means the rate of defueling at Oldbury will be restricted to one or two flasks per week for the next year or so, before moving more towards three flasks per week once Sizewell is defueled," Ledger added.
Presently, two reactors of Oldbury are defueled by 6% and 27% respectively, while the reactors use natural circulation to maintain sufficient temperatures.
The Oldbury power station, located on the south bank of the River Severn in South Gloucestershire, was shut down permanently in February 2012.