Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant
Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United Kingdom with 1 unit on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant | Retired | PHWR | - | 100 | 1968 |
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.
Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | not disclosed |
| Size class | Small |
| Gross capacity | 100MW |
| Net capacity | 92MW |
| Thermal output | 318MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority100% |
| Operator | United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority |
| Construction start | 1 May 1963 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 1 Sep 1967 |
| Grid connection | 1 Dec 1967 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jan 1968 |
| Permanent shutdown | 11 Sep 1990 |
Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant in context
The one unit with both construction and grid dates on record took 4.6 years 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 (84 km), Flamanville nuclear power plant (130 km) and Paluel nuclear power plant (226 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant | 1963 | 1967 | 4.6 | 5.0 (1960s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinkley Point nuclear power plant | United Kingdom | 84 km | - |
| Flamanville nuclear power plant | France | 130 km | 4.4 |
| Paluel nuclear power plant | France | 226 km | 5.5 |
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 | 50.6825, -2.2649 |
| Elevation | about 30 mabove sea level |
| Setting | 6 km from the sea |
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Units by status | Retired: 1 |
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 | United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority |
|---|---|
| Operators | United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority |
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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