Last month, on the 21st April, Britain went a day without coal-fired power for the first time since use of the fossil fuel began. Instead of using coal to produce the country’s electricity, power was produced primarily from natural gas and nuclear, alongside wind, imports from other countries, biomass and solar.
Coal has seen a significant decline in the last few years, in 2016 it accounted for just 9% of electricity generation, down from 23% the year before. The plan is to completely phase out this polluting-fuel by 2025 as part of a government initiative to meet climate change commitments.
While the biggest fuel for generating electricity is currently gas, it is very closely followed by nuclear, with 21% coming from nuclear plants such as Hinkley Point and this number is only set to increase when Hinkley Point C is completed in 2025.
Hinkley Point C will be the UK’s first nuclear power plant in more than two decades and is set to power 5 to 6 million UK homes with safe and affordable electricity.
French utility company EDF are financing the power station with the help of Chinese investment and they aren’t the only ones – foreign companies are queuing up to build nuclear plants in the UK. The latest is South Korea whose biggest power company is in talks to back a nuclear power station in Cumbria.
Hinkley Point C is set to deliver 7% of the UK’s electricity – but do you know how it is produced or where the most powerful reactors are situated across the globe? Take a look at this infographic, created by recruiters NES Global Talent, for a peek behind the scenes of a nuclear power station…
