Berkeley nuclear power plant
Berkeley nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United Kingdom with 2 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 166 | 1962 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | GCR | MAGNOX | 166 | 1962 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Berkeley nuclear power plant 1 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 166MW |
| Net capacity | 138MW |
| Thermal output | 620MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Jan 1957 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Aug 1961 |
| Grid connection | 12 Jun 1962 |
| Commercial operation | 12 Jun 1962 |
| Permanent shutdown | 31 Mar 1989 |
Berkeley nuclear power plant 2 Retired
| Reactor type | Gas-cooled reactor (GCR) |
|---|---|
| Model | MAGNOX |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 166MW |
| Net capacity | 138MW |
| Thermal output | 620MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom)100% |
| Operator | Magnox |
| Construction start | 1 Jan 1957 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Mar 1962 |
| Grid connection | 24 Jun 1962 |
| Commercial operation | 20 Oct 1962 |
| Permanent shutdown | 26 Oct 1988 |
Berkeley nuclear power plant in context
The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 5.4 to 5.5 years (median 5.5) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1960s is 5.0 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Hinkley Point nuclear power plant (70 km), Flamanville nuclear power plant (244 km) and Heysham nuclear power plant (261 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 1957 | 1962 | 5.4 | 5.0 (1960s) |
| Unit 2 | 1957 | 1962 | 5.5 | 5.0 (1960s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinkley Point nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 70 km | - |
| Flamanville nuclear power plant | France | 244 km | 4.4 |
| Heysham nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 261 km | 2.6 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.6927, -2.4938 |
| Elevation | about 15 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the sea coast, 0.6 km from the water |
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 2 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (United Kingdom) |
|---|---|
| Operators | Magnox |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data