The U.K.’s Heysham 2 nuclear power station, in the north west coast of England, claimed a new world record for its continuous operation over 895 days, operator EDF Energy said Wednesday.
Heysham 2’s Unit 8 has been operating continuously for 895 days since being synchronized to the national grid on Feb.18, 2014. The record was achieved as the nuclear plant is designed to be refueled without firstly being shut down.
Heysham 2 generates enough low carbon power for around two million homes.
“Since the acquisition of the U.K. nuclear fleet in 2009, we have increased its output by 50 percent, safety performance by 51 percent and lifespan by 25 percent,” Vincent de Rivaz, CEO of EDF Energy said.
“The world class performance at Heysham 2 is one part of the sustained improvement in safety and reliability seen across the EDF Energy nuclear fleet,” EDF Energy said.
The previous record for the longest running nuclear plant without interruption was held by Canada’s Pickering 7 plant which was in continuous operation for 894 days, between 26 April 26, 1992 and Oct. 7, 1994.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
zeynep.karabay@aa.com.tr