Chapelcross nuclear power plant — United Kingdom
Retired nuclear power-station site in Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom. Approximate location 55.0169, -3.22401.
NuclearDumfries and GallowayUnited KingdomMAGNOXgas-cooled reactorRetired
Chapelcross nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power station in Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom. Its current lifecycle status is “Retired” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. It ranks #125 of 2,860 United Kingdom power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 12.4% of United Kingdom's electricity; the national grid averages 217 gCO₂/kWh (64.4% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_nuc_chapelcross_unite.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: GEM Global Nuclear Power Tracker September 2025 unit-status sum (retired); fuel: GEM GNPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 240 MW, Chapelcross nuclear power plant is below the median nuclear plant in United Kingdom (965 MW). Technically it is described as gas-cooled reactor. Its lifecycle status is Retired; it no longer generates electricity. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #22 largest nuclear power plant of 25 in United Kingdom by capacity.
United Kingdom has 25 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 27,683 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Ewe Hill I · Wind · 13.8 MW · Scotland
- Ewe Hill II · Wind · 20.7 MW · Scotland
- Beck Burn (resubmission) · Wind · 31 MW · Scotland
- Minsca · Wind · 36.8 MW · Scotland
- Lochay · Hydro · 46 MW · England
- Lochay Compensation Set · Hydro · 2 MW · England
Location
Coordinates 55.0169, -3.22401 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Chapelcross nuclear power plant?
Chapelcross nuclear power plant was a nuclear-fired power station in Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom and was retired.