Hinkley Point B nuclear plant could be spared imminent closure

theguardian.com:

Nuclear power advocates believe energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng is open to extending the life of the Hinkley Point B plant to help wean the UK off gas imports and prevent a faster-than-expected decline in Britain’s fleet of atomic reactors.

Soaring gas prices and the war in Ukraine have already spurred the government to ask coal power plant owners to stay open longer, while ministers also revisited their staunch opposition to fracking in the light of energy supply concerns.

There is a growing feeling in the nuclear industry and its supporters that Kwarteng could also be persuaded to back an extension of up to 18 months to the life of Hinkley Point B, which is due to stop generating electricity this summer.

Such a plan, which would chime with Boris Johnson’s backing for new nuclear in the recent energy security plan, would keep 1GW of electricity generation on the National Grid in the short term, replacing the need for gas-fired generation for up to 1.5m homes.

Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, whose Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency includes Hinkley, said he had spoken to Kwarteng about the possibility and that he was “definitely” open to it. “Kwasi is no fool,” he said.

“He understands the stresses and strains we’re going through and that we need to look at everything we can. They are fully aware of what the [Hinkley] B station is capable of. She’s old but she’s in good health.”

Hinkley’s owner, EDF Energy, would have to produce a safety case for extending the life of a power station that was hooked up to the grid in 1976 and whose closure was previously postponed by seven years in 2012.

EDF would have to prove to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) that the ageing graphite rods in the plant’s reactors could be