Politics Home | Hunterston B power station moves to NDA group as decommissioning gears up

It follows a 2021 agreement that the UK’s fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors would join the NDA group’s subsidiary Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), following completion of electricity generation and final defueling by EDF.

Hunterston B in Ayrshire generated almost 300 terawatt hours of electricity from 1976 until 2022, enough to power all of Scotland’s homes for more than 30 years. Now the focus is turning to safely, securely and sustainably reducing hazards and restoring the site for future generations.

NDA Chief Executive Officer David Peattie said: “This is a landmark moment, for the site and the NDA group, and a clear vote of confidence in our skills, capability and expertise as we expand our nationally important decommissioning mission.

“It demonstrates the strength of collaboration, with the NDA group, EDF, Government, Nuclear Liabilities Fund and regulators working together to deliver the transfer successfully, setting out a strong blueprint for the remaining AGR stations.

“Above all, this milestone delivers lasting benefits for our current and future workforce, and the community, securing jobs, supporting the local economy and creating an enduring positive legacy.”

The move sees 246 people secure an ongoing role with NRS as part of a growing decommissioning sector. The NDA group now employs around 19,000 people with roles ranging from safety specialists to project managers, radiological monitors and technical experts.

David Mitchell, Safety Engineer at Hunterston B, will transfer from EDF to NRS: “Having already dedicated 25 years to the site, I always felt that I would stay for deconstruction. Decommissioning is a new experience for me. It has allowed me to pursue a new direction of travel in terms of career path. Learning new processes, working with new people and being able to have the opportunity to have a positive impact on our journey.”

Direct employment will be supported by substantial supply chain investment, with contracts worth millions of pounds expected to be awarded throughout the multi-year decommissioning process. In 2024/25, NRS spent more than £350 million with the supply chain, including more than £11 million at the neighbouring Hunterston A site, which is already being decommissioned by NRS.

Hunterston B is the first of seven AGR sites to be transferred to the government owned decommissioning body over the next decade, with Hinkley Point B in Somerset following in the autumn. Decommissioning will be carried out using funds from the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, a ring-fenced £20.7 billion fund set up in 1996 specifically to pay for the decommissioning of the current nuclear fleet.

For NRS, the transfer represents a growing focus on operations in Scotland. NRS Chief Executive Officer Rob Fletcher said: “Hunterston B joining NRS is the successful culmination of years of preparation from a dedicated team within NRS and EDF, giving regulators and government the confidence to support this move.  I’m particularly proud that NRS will now employ more than 2,500 people in Scotland, providing high quality, highly skilled jobs delivering vital work to reduce hazards and restore sites on behalf of the nation. Growing our mission enables us to continue our support for the local community and economy, building on the substantial socio-economic contribution that we already make in the region.”

Hunterston B joins Hunterston A and Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire in being decommissioned by NRS, alongside Scotland’s largest and most complex decommissioning project at Dounreay in Caithness. Torness power station is also expected to transfer to the company once final defueling is completed in the 2030s.

EDF’s Decommissioning Director, Paul Morton, added: “This first-of-a-kind project is a massive undertaking involving not just the transfer of a huge number of documents and permits but also of 246 brilliant people and the knowledge and skills they hold.”

“Transfer is on track to be delivered on schedule. This has only been possible due to the strong relationship developed between EDF and NRS which has given the ONR the confidence to make this change to the site licence and enable continued decommissioning.”