40:
560:. It is planned that by 2027 only the four reactor buildings will be left, and they will be dismantled to the point where only the concrete bio-shield that contains the reactor core remains. The site is expected to be in safe storage by 2027 or later, using the "safestore" principle, which utilises an extended period of care and maintenance to reduce overall decommissioning costs. There had been proposals in 2007 for transforming the station into a museum, involving renovating Calder Hall and preserving the cooling towers, but the costs were found to be too high.
348:
437:, and due to its size required considerable extension of the site to the south east across the River Calder. It was named after Calder Hall farm, which had farmed the land it was built on, and bridges were built over the River Calder to link to the existing site. It was divided into two operating units, Calder "A" and Calder "B", each having a turbine hall and two cooling towers shared between reactors 1–2, and reactors 3-4 respectively.
453:
535:
Originally designed for a life of 20 years from respectively 1956-1959, the plant was after 40 years until July 1996 granted an operation licence for a further ten years. Initially, most of the produced heat was used on the site itself for the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. Its military
416:
The reactors each weighed 33,000 tonnes, had four heat exchangers and 1,696 nuclear fuel channels. 8 x 3,000 rpm turbines, each 75 metres (246 ft) long, 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 25 metres (82 ft) high were installed to generate the electricity. The reactors were supplied by UKAEA,
412:
cans. The layout was largely emulated at
Chapelcross in 1958, though at Calder Hall, the four units are divided by A and B each with their own turbine hall, unlike Chapelcross where all four units share a turbine hall. The Calder Hall and Chapelcross design was codenamed PIPPA (Pressurised Pile
338:
started in 2005. The site is partially demolished and is expected that only the reactor cores and associated radiation shielding will remain by 2027, when it will enter a period of extended care and maintenance using the "safestore" principle, before final demolition.
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It was decided by the UK Government to proceed with the civil nuclear power programme in 1952, and construction at Calder Hall began the following year. The station was designed by a team led by
895:
1042:
1080:
922:
815:"Reminiscences of an atom pioneer". H.G. Davey, Works General Manager Windscale and Calder Works 1947-1958. Edited, Margaret Gowing, published Ca 1960 UKAEA, Risley, Lancs.
616:
1129:
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532:) in 1971. Restructuring by the British government later resulted in a new company, Sellafield Ltd, gaining responsibility for operations of the Sellafield site.
75:
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in North West
England. Calder Hall was the world's first full-scale commercial nuclear power station to enter operation, and was the sister plant to the
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in the towers' rubble. The reactors were fully defueled by 2019 and the spent fuel was taken across the
Sellafield site to be reprocessed within the
366:, with two further added at the opposite end of the power station in 1958 and 1959. Each were 88 metres (289 ft) in height. The four Magnox (
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started in 2005. The cooling towers were demolished by controlled implosions on 29 September 2007. A period of 12 weeks was required to remove
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from years of exposure to radiation, it was decided to close the plant three years sooner than planned.
537:
123:
824:
Indictment: Power & Politics in the
Construction Industry, David Morrell, Faber & Faber, 1987,
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413:
Producing Power and
Plutonium) by the UKAEA to denote the plant's dual commercial and military role.
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use, which meant it was shut down for periods of its life, contributed to its long lifetime. Due to
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The station was closed on 31 March 2003, the first reactor having been in use for nearly 47 years.
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639:. Vol. 92, no. 1280. Reed Business Information. 19 November 1981. p. 516.
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Short film clip of Queen
Elizabeth II inaugurating Calder Hall on October 17, 1956
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Ownership of all of the site's assets and liabilities was transferred to the
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684:"Going, going, gone: towering icons of nuclear power are reduced to rubble"
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idising, referring to the alloy used for the fuel element cladding) 180
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524:. It was initially owned and operated by the Production Group of the
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Decommissioning the world's first commercial nuclear power station.
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571:. While operations were transferred from BNFL to Sellafield Ltd.
529:
872:
618:
Oversight of
Breeder Reactor Development in the United Kingdom
520:
Calder Hall was officially opened on 17 October 1956 by Queen
517:
series. Electricity was always considered to be a by-product.
446:
528:(UKAEA) until the creation of British Nuclear Fuels Limited (
1111:, Nuclear Engineering International wall chart, October 1956
844:
Privatisation and
Financial Collapse in the Nuclear Industry
713:"Build the world's first commercial nuclear power station"
309:. Both were commissioned and originally operated by the
1064:
Feasibility Study with many pictures of the complex:
924:
Plunkett's
Renewable, Alternative and Hydrogen Energy
473:. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are
433:
Calder Hall was an early development of the existing
1067:
Calder Hall
Nuclear Power Station Feasibility Study.
897:
International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics
313:. The primary purpose of both plants was to produce
324:, but they also generated electrical power for the
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440:Construction began in 1953 and was carried out by
596:Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
44:Calder Hall nuclear power station, after opening
1054:Nuclear Engineering International November 2021
621:. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 13.
8:
949:Calder Hall Celebrates 40 Years of Operation
357:Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside
421:, and the civil engineering contractor was
29:
493:Learn how and when to remove this message
351:Fuel loading at Calder Hall power station
1130:Former nuclear power stations in England
567:(NDA), a regulatory body created by the
469:Relevant discussion may be found on the
1140:Energy infrastructure completed in 1956
869:"1956: Queen switches on nuclear power"
607:
256:Related media on Commons
894:John Barry; E. Gene Frankland (2014).
633:"Nuclear Power's Crisis of Confidence"
581:Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
526:United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
311:United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
900:. Taylor & Francis. p. 416.
707:
705:
7:
1018:from the original on 25 October 2021
988:from the original on 25 October 2021
978:"First nuclear power plant to close"
847:. Taylor & Francis. p. 14.
656:
654:
1145:Buildings and structures in Cumbria
963:First nuclear power plant to close.
787:"Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station"
662:"Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station"
591:Energy policy of the United Kingdom
586:Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
505:The primary purpose was to produce
1008:"Sellafield towers are demolished"
927:. Plunkett Research. p. 190.
25:
565:Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
284:Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station
145:Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
33:Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station
451:
161:Thermal power station
38:
511:UK's nuclear weapons programme
362:Calder Hall initially had two
322:UK's nuclear weapons programme
1:
1135:Former nuclear power stations
976:Brown, Paul (14 April 2003).
513:, for weapons including the
444:and was completed in 1956.
966:The Guardian, 21 March 2003
739:"Chapelcross Power Station"
664:. Engineering-timelines.com
544:Closure and decommissioning
442:Taylor Woodrow Construction
423:Taylor Woodrow Construction
238:Annual net output
1161:
207:C.A. Parsons & Company
737:Knowles, P. (July 1958).
615:Wydler, John. W. (1981).
558:Magnox Reprocessing Plant
419:C. A. Parsons and Company
261:
190:
186:
49:
37:
769:"The Nuclear Businesses"
203:Make and model
27:UK nuclear power station
952:. BNFL, 1996 (archived)
921:Plunkett, Jack (2007).
218:Nameplate capacity
115:Construction began
1070:NDA/ATKINS, March 2007
841:Taylor, Simon (2007).
352:
198:4 x 60 MWe (1956–2003)
195:Units operational
133:Decommission date
1014:. 29 September 2007.
775:on 27 September 2007.
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291:nuclear power station
182:Power generation
462:factual accuracy is
228:Capacity factor
124:Commission date
91:54.41861°N 3.49139°W
690:. 30 September 2007
247:External links
177:4 (demolished 2007)
174:Cooling towers
87: /
353:
110:in decommissioning
96:54.41861; -3.49139
1081:"Energy Act 2004"
1041:NDA, 3 Sep 2019.
934:978-1-59392-100-2
907:978-1-135-55396-8
875:. 17 October 1956
854:978-1-134-08348-0
830:978-0-571-14985-8
791:Engineering Times
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166:Primary fuel
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1088:. Retrieved
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1022:29 September
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877:. Retrieved
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799:. Retrieved
795:the original
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720:. Retrieved
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692:. Retrieved
688:The Guardian
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666:. Retrieved
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522:Elizabeth II
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286:is a former
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1109:Calder Hall
343:Description
303:Chapelcross
151:Operator(s)
94: /
70:Coordinates
18:Calder Hall
1124:Categories
984:. London.
717:Ice.org.uk
602:References
295:Sellafield
82:03°29′29″W
79:54°25′07″N
1090:3 October
992:21 August
879:3 October
722:3 October
694:3 October
668:3 October
645:0262-4079
507:plutonium
471:talk page
407:aluminium
403:magnesium
387:moderated
318:plutonium
305:plant in
1086:. Gov.uk
1043:Archived
1016:Archived
1012:BBC News
986:Archived
575:See also
554:asbestos
509:for the
483:May 2024
464:disputed
384:graphite
320:for the
307:Scotland
275:NY034036
141:Owner(s)
65:Seascale
62:Location
755:4302171
429:History
393:cooled
370:nesium
299:Cumbria
252:Commons
242:360 GWh
222:240 MWe
169:Nuclear
57:England
54:Country
931:
904:
851:
828:
753:
643:
515:WE.177
380:
288:Magnox
107:Status
1084:(PDF)
410:alloy
382:MWth
263:[
211:UKAEA
1092:2022
1024:2007
994:2006
929:ISBN
902:ISBN
881:2022
849:ISBN
826:ISBN
803:2010
751:OSTI
724:2022
696:2022
670:2022
641:ISSN
530:BNFL
136:2003
128:1956
118:1953
873:BBC
374:on-
368:mag
334:by
297:in
293:at
232:79%
1126::
1010:.
980:.
871:.
789:.
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745:.
741:.
715:.
704:^
686:.
653:^
635:.
425:.
389:,
376:ox
359:,
328:.
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996:.
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747:3
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490:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
