Facts and figures
While generating, Dungeness A, a twin reactor station, produced electricity day in, day out. On a typical day it supplied enough to serve the energy needs of the South East of England.
Dungeness A stands on a 91 hectare site on the Kent coast, and its location was deliberately chosen. The land has minimal agricultural value, offers easy access, is geologically sound and has an unlimited source of cooling water from the English Channel.
| Basics | |
| Location: | Kent |
| Nearby towns/cities: | Lydd (3 miles), Hastings (20 miles), Ashford (20 miles) |
| Site area: | 20 hectares |
| Number of current employees: | 377 |
| Key dates so far | |
| Construction start: | 1960 |
| Construction end: | 1965 |
| Start operation: | 1965 |
| End operation: | 2006 |
| Defuelling start: | 2008 |
| Defuelling end: | – |
| Care and maintenance preparations start: | – |
| Care and maintenance preparations end: | – |
| Plant description | |
| Reactor type: | Magnox |
| Number of reactors: | 2 |
| Number of fuel channels per reactor: | 3,932 |
| Number of fuel elements per channel: | 7 |
| Number of control rods: | 120 |
| Fuel material: | Natural uranium |
| Reactor coolant: | Carbon dioxide |
| Number of turbo generators: | 4 |
| Electrical output – design (net): | 550MW |
| Electrical output – current (net): | 420MW |
| Station lifetime output to date: | 115.4 TWh |
| Previous operators: | Central Electricity Generating Board, Nuclear Electric, Magnox Electric |
| Adjacent nuclear power station: | British Energy’s Dungeness B |
| Unique facts | |
| The area around Dungeness A is the largest shingle structure in the UK, which as a result requires both Dungeness A and B to continually feed its beach | |
