Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant — United Kingdom

Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power station in Dorset, United Kingdom. Its current lifecycle status is “Retired” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. It ranks #170 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_winfrithsghwr_unite.

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 100 MW, Winfrith SGHWR nuclear power plant is below the median nuclear plant in United Kingdom (965 MW). Technically it is described as steam-generating heavy water 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 #23 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

• Woolbridge Solar Park · Solar · 5 MW · England
• Galton Manor Solar Park · Solar · 5 MW · England
• Redbridge Road · Solar · 6.4 MW · England
• Holly Farm Solar Park · Solar · 5 MW · England
• Crossways Solar Park · Solar · 5 MW · England
• Trigon Solar Farm · Solar · 7 MW · England

Location

Coordinates 50.6825, -2.2649 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions