Site History
Chapelcross, Scotland's first commercial nuclear power station, was built on the 92 hectare site of a World War II training airfield in Dumfriesshire, ideally located for access to cooling water pumped from the River Annan, approximately two miles away. It was built by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to produce 200 Mega Watts of electrical power to the grid system.
Construction of the 4 Magnox Reactors began in 1955 along with 200 houses and a school. During construction there were 2000 workers on site who were accommodated in Creca village and in a caravan colony on the old runway.
Construction was completed in 1959 and the first Chapelcross reactor began generating electricity in February of that year. Within 15 months all four reactors were fully operational and the Station was formally opened on 2 May 1959 by the Lord Lieutenant of Dumfriesshire, Sir John Crabbe.
Chapelcross ceased electricity generation in 2004 after 45 years of successful operation.
Station ownership
1959-1971: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
1971-2005: British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
2005 to present: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (following the restructuring of the UK nuclear industry and transfer of all UK nuclear legacy to the NDA)
View Chapelcross licence and ownership
