Heysham Power Station is a nuclear power station

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 located in Heysham

Heysham

Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...

, Lancashire, England, operated by British Energy

British Energy

British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal fired power station....

. The site is divided into two separately-managed stations, Heysham 1 and Heysham 2, both of the advanced gas-cooled reactor

Advanced gas-cooled reactor

An advanced gas-cooled reactor is a type of nuclear reactor. These are the second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using graphite as the neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant...

 (AGR) type, with two reactors each. In January 2009, EDF Energy bought out British Energy, and the Heysham sites have now been made into EDF Energy existing nuclear sites.

On 18 October 2010 the British government announced that Heysham was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.

Construction of Heysham 1, which was undertaken by British Nuclear Design & Construction ('BNDC'), a consortium backed by English Electric

English Electric

English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...

, Babcock International Group

Babcock International Group

Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...

 and Taylor Woodrow Construction, began in 1970, with the first reactor commencing operations in 1983 and the second reactor following in 1984.