THE possibility of extending the lifespan of a facility that is one of East Lothian’s biggest employers should be given urgent thought in the wake of plans to close a nuclear power station on Scotland’s west coast, the county’s MSP has said.

It has been announced that Hunterston B Power Station, near West Kilbride in North Ayrshire, will begin the decommissioning process by 2022 – leaving Torness Power Station, near Dunbar, as Scotland’s only nuclear power station.

EDF Energy, which manages both the Ayrshire power station and Torness, said that the news would have no direct implications on the future of the East Lothian facility.

But Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, has called for thought to be given to extending the life of Torness, which employs about 500 people.

The Labour MSP said: “Torness Power Station has brought many positives to East Lothian, including providing hundreds of skilled jobs and apprenticeships, and contributing tens of millions of pounds to the local economy each year.

“It also makes a vital contribution to the UK’s power generation, with the capability of supplying low-carbon electricity to over two million homes.

“This was highlighted again during lockdown when the key workers at Torness did a great job helping keep the lights on.

“Critically, Torness will soon be Scotland’s only source of consistent baseload electricity, which we need in order to balance the more intermittent renewable energy sources.

“The Scottish Government’s current policy means that there is no prospect of it being replaced at the end of its lifespan, but this leaves huge questions about how that essential baseload contribution can be replaced.

“Ministers need to urgently revisit the policy on civil nuclear energy and ensure that it remains an option for providing power and jobs in the future.”

The power station started generating in 1988 and employs about 500 members of staff and 200 contractors.

It supplies 1,190MW (megawatts) to the grid from its two reactors and generated more than 10TWh (Terawatt-hours) last year, which was enough to power 2.5 million homes.

A spokeswoman for EDF said that the current end of generation at Torness was pencilled in as 2030, which had been extended in recent years from 2023.

She said: “Torness is one of the top-performing nuclear stations in the UK, with a reactor that has been generating continuously for more than 700 days.

“Last year, it made enough low-carbon electricity to power more than 2.5 million homes.

“We aim to safely operate the station until its current end of generation date of 2030.”

Kenny MacAskill, MP for East Lothian, told the Courier that staff at the power station did “an outstanding job”.

The SNP politician said: “Torness is a major employer both in Dunbar and East Lothian.

“It has an outstanding workforce and is correctly tightly regulated.

“I have visited the site and engage regularly with management and workforce. There are no current safety concerns and its energy supply is vital for Scotland.

“The SNP does not support any new construction of nuclear stations but welcomes the contribution of existing ones.

“Renewables are the future and Scotland is blessed with them.

“Whether Torness is extended beyond 2030 will depend on its operational ability and Scotland’s energy requirements at that time.”