EDF Energy said Tuesday its 495-MW Hunterston B-2 reactor in west Kilbride, Scotland, will return to service on August 30 after receiving permission from the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation.
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Register NowSeparately, the ONR said the unit's output will be limited to 16.025 TWh, or around four months of operation.
Hunterston B-2 was shut last October 18 for maintenance and inspections due to graphite cracking issues. The adjacent and identical Hunterston B-1 has been shut for the same reason since March 9, 2018.
The ONR said that after an assessment, it had concluded that an "adequate safety case has been provided to allow a further period of operation" of the unit.
The ONR normally grants reactors permission to operate in 10-year increments, although it has previously granted permission to operate for only three years to specific units. Aspokeswoman said she was not aware of the regulator having previously permitted such a short period of return to service.
The spokeswoman said the ONR had granted the 16.025 TWh operating limit because "after around four months of operation the questions about the uncertainty of the reactor's ability to continue to operate come in".
An EDF Energy spokeswoman said the company viewed the ONR operating permission for Hunterston B-2 as an "interim position" that may change as the "safety cases for graphite develop in this period, allowing us to continue operating for longer before the next planned inspection".
-- Oliver Adelman, oliver.adelman@spglobal.com
-- Edited by Daniel Lalor, daniel.lalor@spglobal.com