Hinkley Point B transfers from EDF to NDA as UK decommissioning programme expands

(PRESS RELEASE) BRIDGWATER, Somerset, United Kingdom, 2-Oct-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Hinkley Point B nuclear power station in Somerset has transferred from EDF to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for decommissioning, marking a further expansion of the NDA group’s nationally important mission.

The site will now be managed by NDA subsidiary Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), which is also responsible for decommissioning the neighbouring Hinkley Point A site.

The transfer opens a new chapter for Hinkley Point B, which was the first British-designed Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor to export electricity to the national grid in 1976. By the time generation ended some 46 years later, in 2022, the station had produced enough zero-carbon electricity to power every home in the South West of England for 33 years.

Hinkley Point B will continue to support well-paid skilled employment in the local community. Around 250 people working at the station are transferring from EDF to NRS, bringing their knowledge and experience to the safe and secure decommissioning of the site.

NDA Group CEO, David Peattie, said:

“As our mission continues to expand, we’re proud to draw on decades of expertise, applying proven skills, innovation and experience to safely decommission the AGR fleet.

“As we warmly welcome our new colleagues to the NDA group it’s a reminder that decommissioning underpins the nuclear energy sector.

“We are safely cleaning up sites and managing waste, preparing land for alternative uses, as well as sustaining national capability, supporting local communities, and giving confidence that the UK will manage its nuclear legacy responsibly.”

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:

“Today’s transfer marks an important new chapter for Hinkley Point B, which has played a key role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and will continue to support around 250 skilled jobs as it enters safe decommissioning.

“As we deliver the biggest expansion of nuclear power in a generation, we are backing both the skilled jobs needed to decommission our historic sites safely and the 42,000 jobs helping build the next generation of clean, homegrown nuclear power.”

Hinkley Point has long been a central part of the UK’s nuclear energy industry. The A site began generating electricity in 1965 and was joined by the B station in 1976. Work is now ongoing on land adjacent to the two stations to build Hinkley Point C.

Between 1976-2024, Hinkley Point B generated more than £15bn worth of economic value to the UK. Decommissioning also continues to generate significant economic benefits. Economic analysis shows that in 2024/25 Hinkley Point A was estimated to contribute around £31 million in economic value for the local authority, rising to £61 million for the wider UK.

NRS CEO, Rob Fletcher, said:

“We’re proud to welcome our new colleagues from EDF into the NDA group. We already have deep local experience at Hinkley through our work at Hinkley Point A, where strong relationships have been built and significant progress has been made in restoration, innovation and preparing facilities for their next chapter.

“As we welcome Hinkley Point B and our new colleagues, we look forward to working together across both sites to share experience, strengthen local capability and deliver safe, secure decommissioning for the benefit of the community and the wider UK nuclear mission.”

Managing Director of EDF Nuclear Operations, John Munro, said:

“Hinkley Point B was the first nuclear station of its type to begin generating in 1976 – all those that followed, and indeed this industry, have learned a huge amount from all it has accomplished.

“It has been a trailblazer and now it, and the dedicated teams who have made it the national asset it is, have a new task at hand – one I am sure they will deliver to the highest standard and with the ceaseless professionalism we have all benefitted from over the last decades.”

The milestone is the culmination of five years of partnership and collaboration involving government, the NDA group, EDF, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, which worked together to prepare the site for transfer.

Defueling the reactor in preparation for decommissioning was completed on time and on budget. Over the three-year programme, more than 4,900 elements of spent fuel were removed and packaged into specially engineered, transportable fuel flasks by NDA subsidiary Nuclear Transport Solutions before being taken to Sellafield, the NDA group’s largest site, for safe storage.

Hinkley Point B is the second AGR site to transfer to the NDA for decommissioning, following Hunterston B in April 2026. Dungeness B is also planned to transfer before the end of the decade, while Hartlepool, Heysham 1, Heysham 2 and Torness are expected to move across as they complete their generating lives.

Chief Executive of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, Melissa Hope, said:

“The transfer of Hinkley Point B marks another significant milestone in the UK’s nuclear programme and demonstrates what can be achieved through effective partnership working across government, EDF, the NDA group and the wider regulatory community. NLF’s ring-fenced funding will support the ongoing decommissioning of the station, helping to sustain the skilled jobs, specialist expertise and local supply chains needed to deliver this nationally important mission.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with NRS as decommissioning progresses, providing confidence that funding will be available when needed and empowering those delivering the work to drive innovation and efficiency.”

Notes to Editors

About the NDA group

We’re responsible for keeping the UK’s former nuclear sites and facilities, once at the heart of supporting national defence and generating nuclear power for electricity, safe and secure as we decommission them and overcome the challenges of managing nuclear waste. It’s one of the most important environmental programmes in the world, protecting people and the planet.

We work hard on behalf of the UK, using innovation and technology to overcome the challenges of identifying and removing nuclear waste from ageing facilities, so we can store it safely and permanently dispose of it. The work is complex and challenging. Dealing with all the waste, dismantling hundreds of buildings and facilities, and building a geological disposal facility (GDF), to dispose of the most hazardous radioactive waste, will take decades. However, by investing today in the challenges left over from the UK’s proud nuclear history, we can remove the burden for future generations and continue to deliver social and environmental benefits through our jobs, knowledge, skills, technology and social investment.

About Nuclear Restoration Services

Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority responsible for safely decommissioning 14 nuclear sites across the UK.

These include:

• The largest environmental clean-up and demolition project in Scotland at the former centre of fast reactor research and development, Dounreay
• Eleven first and second-generation nuclear sites at Berkeley, Bradwell, Chapelcross, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Hunterston A, Hunterston B, Oldbury, Sizewell A, Trawsfynydd and Wylfa
• Two reactor research sites at Harwell and Winfrith

NRS also operates a hydro-electric power station at Maentwrog.

Hunterston B joined NRS on 1 April 2026 as the first advanced gas-cooled reactor site to be decommissioned, followed by Hinkley Point B on the 1 October 2026. Dungeness B, Torness, Heysham 1 & 2, and Hartlepool will join NRS as they are defueled over the next decade.

About NLF

The Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF) is an independent ring-fenced fund, established in 1996 to help ensure that funding is available to meet the costs of decommissioning seven AGR nuclear power stations and Sizewell B.

Nuclear liabilities extend far beyond a single generation and NLF’s role is to safeguard and invest the Fund’s assets to generate returns over the long term, helping to ensure that sufficient funding is available to meet decommissioning costs as they arise. Given the timescales involved, a significant proportion of these costs are not expected to arise for many decades.

The Fund currently has approximately £21 billion of assets under management. Around £16 billion is held with government through the National Loans Fund, providing liquidity and funding certainty for near-term decommissioning costs. The remaining approximately £5 billion is invested through the Mixed Assets Portfolio, a diversified portfolio of liquid and illiquid investments designed to generate long-term returns. A significant proportion of the portfolio is currently invested in UK assets.

The Fund helps ensure that decommissioning costs are planned for over the long term and do not fall unexpectedly on taxpayers. The government has provided guarantees that decommissioning liabilities will continue to be met if the Fund’s assets prove insufficient.

About EDF

EDF is driving the transition towards An Electric Britain – a secure, affordable, low-carbon future for everyone. As Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, we are investing more than £100 million weekly in Britain’s electricity infrastructure. We supply millions of customers with electricity and help homes and businesses switch to electricity for heating, transport and industrial processes.

We operate five nuclear power stations and more than 35 onshore wind farms and three offshore wind farms. Since 2009, EDF has invested almost £9 billion in the nuclear fleet to improve reliability and extend station lifetimes. The five generating stations currently supply about 12% of the UK’s electricity demand.

EDF is building the UK’s nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. We are a minority investor (12.5%) in and major supplier to a replica plant at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes. EDF Group companies Framatome and Arabelle Solutions have a presence in the UK and manufacture critical equipment such as reactor pressure vessels and turbines.

EDF is enabling its 5 million customers, both in business and at home, to choose electric solutions that save cash and carbon, whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity, selling energy back to the grid or installing solar panels or a heat pump. In 2025, EDF’s Customers business was ranked as one of the Sunday Times’s Best Place to Work.

It is also one of the UK’s leading developers of renewable energy through EDF power solutions UK and Ireland. We have more than 2GW of renewable generation in operation and over 10GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage.

We are one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Dalkia, is one of the UK and Ireland’s largest technical service providers.