Facts and figures
Chapelcross's first electricity was generated in 1959, and it’s last in February 2004. At its peak, it could continuously supply enough electricity to run a city of 150,000 people. Chapelcross stands on a 92 hectare site, 4 miles from the Solway coastline.
| Basics | |
| Location: | Dumfriesshire |
| Nearby towns/cities: | Annan (3km), Carlisle (28km) |
| Site area: | 92 hectares |
| Number of current employees: | 418 |
| Key dates | |
| Construction start: | 1955 |
| Construction end: | 1959 |
| Start operation: | 1959 |
| End operation: | 2004 |
| Defuelling start: | 2004 |
| Defuelling end: | 2011 |
| Care & Maintenance Preparations start: | 2010 (some early decommissioning work commenced in 1998 with clearance works in the North Site) |
| Care & Maintenance Preparations end: | 2018 (in line with Lifetime Plan 2007) |
| Plant description | |
| Reactor type: | Magnox |
| Number of reactors: | 4 |
| Number of fuel channels per reactor: | 1,696 |
| Number of fuel elements per channel: | 5 or 6 |
| Number of control rods: | 48 |
| Fuel material: | Natural and low-enriched uranium |
| Reactor coolant: | Carbon dioxide |
| Number of turbo generators: | 8 |
| Electrical output – design (net): | 196MW exported |
| Electrical output – current (net): | 196MW exported |
| Station lifetime output to date: | Over 60 TW/h |
| Previous operators: | UK Atomic Energy Authority, BNFL |
| Adjacent nuclear power station: | None |
| Unique facts | |
| Chapelcross was the first commercial nuclear power station in Scotland. It was built in just 30 months by 2,000 workers and produced electricity for almost twice as long as its anticipated life span. | |
