Hunterston B is a nuclear power station on the west coast of Scotland. It is capable of supplying electricity to approximately 1.7 million UK homes.
Since 1976 Hunterston B has generated low carbon electricity for 77.9 million homes
Avoiding 101.5m tonnes of CO2 emissions*
Like taking every car off Scotland's roads for more than 19 years
*when compared to direct emissions of combined cycle gas turbines | all figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand
About Hunterston B
- Station Director: Paul Forrest
- Total supply to the national grid: 965MW
- Reactor type: 2 Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors
- Coolant: Carbon dioxide gas (CO2)
- Start of construction: 1968
- Start of generation: 1976
- Estimated decommissioning date: January 2022
- People: Approximately 520 full time EDF employees plus over 250 full time contract partners
- Daily plant status - find out which reactors at our eight nuclear power stations are in service and what they are generating (information updated on weekdays)
Graphite in nuclear power
At Hunterston B we have been conducting the most extensive investigation programme ever undertaken on the graphite core of our reactors.
Find out more about the role of graphite in our reactors, and the results of our inspections.
Visit Hunterston B power station
Due to Coronavirus all site tours have been suspended and our exhibition centre remains closed, we are also unfortunately unable to take any forward bookings at this time. We will update our website with further information when the situation changes.
One of only two nuclear power stations in Scotland, Hunterston B generates enough low carbon electricity to power approximately 1.5 million homes.
This visitor centre was opened by Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing in August 2012. It has been awarded a 5 star rating from Visit Scotland, and in March 2016 received a Silver Award from the Green Tourism Board.
Tour Information
Tour time: approx 1.5 hours.
Minimum age: Minimum age for the station tour is 7 years old.
Bookings must be made at least 3 weeks in advance.
You will be accompanied by a trained station guide and will include the reactor viewing gallery, the turbine hall and the control room viewing gallery (subject to availability). All site tours include a safety and security briefing and the issue of relevant PPE (personal protective equipment).
Opening hours and events
Monday to Friday: 09:00 - 16:00 hours, except bank holidays
Dates for your diary:
We will update our events calendar as soon as our Visitor Centre has reopened.
Frequently asked questions
If you have any questions about the visitor centre, or about taking a tour, please check our FAQs.
If you have any questions about the visitor centre, or about taking a tour, please contact us:
Telephone: 01294 826008
Address: Hunterston B power station, West Kilbride, Ayrshire. KA23 9QX
Email: hunterstonbtours@edf-energy.com
Find out more about Hunterston B
Safety and reporting
Our number one priority is safety. Find out about EDF Energy's commitment to Zero Harm.
Community
EDF and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority hold regular joint meetings (Site Stakeholder Group or SSG) with local people, the media, council and emergency services representatives and local politicians to maintain regular communications about the nuclear site. This meeting is independently chaired.
Contact Hunterston
- Address:
EDF Hunterston B power station
West Kilbride
Ayrshire KA23 9QX
Reception:
+44 (0)1294 826000 - Media requests:
Fiona McCall
fiona.mccall@edf-energy.com
+44 (0)1355 846281
Community requests:
Nikki Thomson
nikki.thomson@edf-energy.com
+44 (0)1294 826157
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