Berkeley site

Berkeley is located on a 27-hectare site of Special Scientific Interest on the eastern bank of the River Severn in South Gloucestershire, and was home to the Berkeley research laboratories, which played a major role in advancing the UK’s nuclear expertise.

Construction of the station began in 1956, with its two Magnox reactors entering service in 1962. During 27 years of operation, Berkeley generated around 43 terrawatt hours of electricity.

Since decommissioning began, the site has achieved a number of significant milestones. The turbine hall was demolished in 1995, followed by the spent fuel cooling ponds in 2001, and both reactor buildings were lowered in height and placed into safestore in 2010. The site has also successfully removed and recycled its 31-tonne boilers and released 11 hectares of former laboratory land for future use.

One of the largest current projects involves the removal and demolition of the historic blower house structures surrounding the reactor buildings, bringing forward work which had originally been planned decades into the future.

As one of the world’s earliest commercial nuclear power stations to be decommissioned, Berkeley has helped to establish many of the techniques and approaches now used across the global nuclear industry. The site has consistently been at the forefront of reactor decommissioning innovation and continues to provide valuable lessons for nuclear clean-up projects around the world.