Torness undergoes ‘MOT’
Station reactor offline as 800 additional workers carry out maintenance
A MULTI-MILLION-POUND maintenance project, involving more than 12,500 separate work tasks, is under way at one of East Lothian’s largest employers.
One of the two reactors at Torness Power Station has been taken offline.
The planned 10-week statutory outage has been described as being like an MOT for the unit, allowing work to be carried out that cannot take place while the reactor is at power.
At its peak, about 800 additional workers will join the 750-strong site team to deliver the programme of works, staying in the area’s hotels, bed and breakfasts, and caravan parks.
Paul Forrest, station director, said: “This £40 million maintenance programme supports our ambition to make sure Torness remains a topperforming station that can continue to support the UK’s net-zero goals.
“This will be the 25th statutory outage we have carried out at the station.
“We are very well practised at them and, over the years, we have built great relationships with the extra workers who come and support us during the outages.
“These workers will be staying in local hotels and B&Bs, eating in the area’s restaurants and using taxi firms. It is great that our investment in the power station can also benefit our local community.”
During the outage, workers will carry out more than 12,500 separate pieces of work – each carefully planned during the last two years of preparation.
Some of the largest jobs include turbine rotor exchange, gas circulator exchanges and inspections, graphite core inspections, and generator load switch replacement.
EDF carries out a statutory outage on each of its reactors every three years.
They are planned in advance with the National Grid to ensure there is no impact on the national electricity supply.
The other reactor at Torness will continue operating normally throughout the period.
Over its lifetime, the power station, near Dunbar, which started generating in 1988, has generated enough zerocarbon electricity to power every home in Scotland for 29
It is great that our investment in the power station can also benefit the local community
years, and the amount of carbon avoided, compared to gas generation, is the equivalent of taking every car off Scotland’s roads for 20 years.
The power station is due to stop producing electricity in 2028, when it is anticipated that decommissioning works will get under way.