Hunterston B site

Hunterston B is located next to Hunterston A site on the west coast of Scotland. 

Hunterston B transferred to NRS as the first UK advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) site for decommissioning on 1 April 2026. 

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) granted a site licence to NRS at a signing ceremony on 18 March 2026 that will enable Hunterston B site’s decommissioning.

The site produced 297.4 terawatt hours of zero-carbon electricity over its 46-year generating life – enough to power all of Scotland’s homes for 29 years. 

Hunterston B was the first Advanced gas-cooled reactor site in the UK to be declared fuel free by the ONR in April 2025. 

Between 2022 and 2025, 4,880 spent fuel elements were processed and packaged into nearly 350 specialist flasks, then transported by rail from Hunterston B to Sellafield for long‑term storage. 

In December 2023, EDF applied for consent to decommission Hunterston B under the Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning) Regulations 1999, which was granted by the Office for Nuclear Regulation in August 2024. Read the full story at: ONR grants consent to decommission Hunterston B | Office for Nuclear Regulation 

In pictures