LONDON - Britain on Thursday gave the go-head for decommissioning of one of its oldest nuclear power stations, a process expected to take more than a century to complete.
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate said it granted formal consent to decommission the Sizewell A station in eastern England once it stops generating at the end of this year. The plant started up in 1966.
"Current plans indicate that initial decommissioning work, including demolition of the turbine hall and ancillary buildings, will be completed by 2017," it said in a statement. "Final site clearance will be completed by 2110."
Britain's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has estimated decommissioning and cleaning up costs for existing civil nuclear plants are running at about 70 billion pounds (US$130.8 billion). Britain gets about a fifth of its power from nuclear.
Prime Minister Tony Blair last week said replacement of existing plants with a new fleet of reactors was back on the agenda because of the need to tackle global warming and secure long-term energy supplies.
Nuclear stations emit hardly any greenhouse gases.
Spain's nuclear industry is also hopeful its government may soften its anti-nuclear stance.
The 430-megawatt Sizewell A plant is one of Britain's ageing Magnox fleet of reactors, all of which are scheduled to close by 2010. After Sizewell A's closure, only three of the orginal 11 Magnox stations will be operation.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
