A NUCLEAR reactor at a power station in East Lothian had to be shut down yesterday over problems with a valve.
EDF Energy, owner of the Torness nuclear power station, confirmed that the forced shutdown of one of the two reactors was unplanned.
The incident sparked fresh calls from WWF Scotland for 100 per cent renewable energy.
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “This might be the first unplanned shutdown at Torness this year, but given similar incidents in the past few years it’s clear that nuclear power is showing itself to be an increasingly unreliable source of energy.
“It underlines why Scotland is right to be choosing to harness more power from renewable energy sources.
“So we can finally end our reliance on unreliable and unpopular nuclear power and fossil fuels, as we approach the Holyrood elections, we’d like to see the political parties commit to making Scotland’s the EU’s first 100 per cent renewable electricity nation.
“Independent research has shown that Scotland can have a safe and secure electricity supply with almost entirely renewable electricity generation in 2030, by playing to our amazing natural resource strengths.”
The station’s director Paul Winkle said there were no safety, health or environmental impacts.
He added: “Whilst carrying out routine maintenance in the conventional turbine part of the plant there was an issue with a valve and our operations team took prompt action and manually shutdown the reactor, putting safety first. Cooling to the reactor was maintained at all times and there were no safety, health or environmental impacts.
“The reactor will be returned to power as soon as maintenance is satisfactorily completed.”
Torness power station’s two nuclear reactors generate enough electricity to power more than two million homes and started operating in 1988.
The station employs more than 500 full-time staff and about 250 full-time contract partners.
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