British Energy to extend lives of two reactors

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The Hinkley Point reactor in Somerset, southwest England, and the Hunterston reactor on Scotland's west coast had been scheduled to close in 2011, 35 years after they were first fired up.

LONDON (Reuters) - Nuclear operator British Energy has reached a long-awaited decision to extend the lives of two reactors by an extra five years to 2016, helping the UK towards ambitious climate change goals.

The Hinkley Point reactor in Somerset, southwest England, and the Hunterston reactor on Scotland's west coast had been scheduled to close in 2011, 35 years after they were first fired up.

"This decision ... is important in supporting the UK's climate change goals for the reduction of CO2 emissions," said Chief Executive Bill Coley.

"Life extension helps provide support as the country considers energy conservation, efficiency and investment in new generating plant of all types," he added.

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The company expects to spend an additional 90 million pounds ($183.6 million) in the three years to 2008 to get the two reactors ready.

British Energy is currently running the two plants at a reduced capacity of 60 percent after shutting them down last winter to repair boiler cracks.

But it hopes to get them up to 70 percent over the next year, at which point it needs a power price of around 27 pounds per megawatt hour to make the life extensions economically viable.

(Reporting by Pete Harrison and John Bowker, editing by Will Waterman)