British Civil Nuclear Energy Development Research (1953-2016)

In the history of the nuclear energy,Britain is a country that started earlier,and once led the world in this field.In 1956,the world's first commercial nuclear power station started operation in the UK.By the beginning of 60s,the first nuclear power program has been completed in the UK.It has 9 nuclear power stations and 18 Magnox reactors,and has reached about 4200 megawatts of nuclear power installed capacity.In addition,the UK also exported two Magnox nuclear power stations to Japan and Italy.In 1964,the second nuclear power program were launched in the UK,and the second nuclear power program,with advanced gas-cooled reactor(AGR)technology,has built up 5 nuclear power stations.However,in the construction process of the five nuclear power stations,there are many problems besides the delay in the period of work and the overspending of expenses,there are many technical problems in the AGR reactor itself.At the end of the second nuclear power program,the British nuclear power industry has been gradually in crisis.Meanwhile,From the beginning of 1960s,the United States,France,Japan,Canada,the Soviet Union and other countries have begun to vigorously develop nuclear energy,these countries have developed pressurized water reactor(PWR),boiling water reactor(BWR),Canadian deuterium uranium reactor(CANDU)and High Power Channel-type reactor(RBMK)on the basis of the first generation of nuclear power stations.These types of reactors are gradually favored by business and become an international mainstream.During the second nuclear power program,the British nuclear power industry was gradually trapped,and the leading power of the nuclear power industry was gradually overtaken by the United States and France.In July 10,1974,the UK Department of Energy announced the third nuclear power program,announced that it would use steam generating heavy-water reactor(SGHWR)and expect to order 6 reactors in the next 4 years,in 1975 the government authorized the construction of Sizewell B nuclear power station and Tomess nuclear power station.Then for a variety of reasons,the British government stopped investment in the steam generating heavy-water reactor program.The order of the two nuclear power stations was canceled,and the third nuclear power project was temporarily stranded.Until 1979,the Thatcher administration took office,once supported the development of nuclear power,and in April 1980,the government approved two improved gas cooled reactors in Heysham and Tomess,this is the last two AGR nuclear power stations built in Britain.In 1981 the British Parliament decided to build Sizewell B nuclear power station,The nuclear power station uses pressurized water reactor,The nuclear power station is the last nuclear power station of the third nuclear power program,Since then,no new nuclear power station have been built in the UK.The British nuclear power industry is in a stagnation.Other countries,in order to get rid of the two oil crisis in 1970s,have formed two nuclear power development climax,leading the development of the world nuclear industry.To the early period of the New Labour Party in power,The British government still does not support the development of nuclear energy,based on the state of domestic power and electricity supply,the current situation of the nuclear industry,and the impact of the world nuclear accident.In order to replace nuclear power,the government has made considerable efforts to promote the transformation of renewable technologies.However,these efforts failedSince 2002,with the problems of energy security and environment in Britain are becoming more and more prominent,nuclear power has been renewed by the government.In the issued Energy Review 2006:The Energy Challenge,Meet Energy Challenges,Meeting the Energy Challenge:A White Paper on Nuclear,The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.These documents all mentioned the important role of nuclear power,pointed out that new nuclear power stations should be built to cope with climate change and energy security.and it points out the government would to consult extensively on the legitimacy,strategic location and investment of new nuclear power stations and ensure that the first new nuclear power station in Britain will be built in 2018.The promulgation of this series of documents and policies marks the revival of British nuclear energy.In 2016,with the formal construction of the Hinckley point C nuclear power station,the UK nuclear power project,which has been stagnant for more than 30 years,was finally restarted.