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NUCLEAR Β· Decommissioning

Dounreay Nuclear Site

Dounreay was Britain’s centre for fast-reactor research and operated two electricity-generating experimental reactors: the 14 MW Dounreay Fast Reactor and the 250 MW Prototype Fast Reactor. The site is now one of the UK’s largest and most technically complex nuclear decommissioning programmes.

Fast breeder reactors (DFR / PFR) Caithness Scotland Commissioned 1962 Closed 1994
Nuclear Restoration Services logo Nuclear Restoration Services
Site image Decommissioning
Dounreay Nuclear Site
Dounreay Nuclear Site Dounreay on the Caithness coast, showing the distinctive spherical reactor building and the site’s exposed coastal setting. Image credit: Paul Wordingham Β· Β© Paul Wordingham Β· used with attribution
Fast breeder reactors (DFR / PFR) Technical views
Sodium-cooled fast-reactor process diagram
Indicative coastal nuclear site arrangement
Simplified fast-reactor sequence showing the reactor vessel, primary and secondary sodium circuits, steam generation, turbine and grid export.

Station map context

OpenStreetMap view showing the actual atlas coordinate for Dounreay Nuclear Site, with a wider local view and a closer site-focused view.

Wider location

This view places the station in its surrounding district, coast or industrial corridor.

Approx. coordinate used: 58.5785, -3.7525

Closer site view

This tighter map makes the specific site position much clearer for the station record.

Marker placed on the stored station coordinate in the atlas dataset.

Reference snapshot

Nuclear Restoration Services
StatusDecommissioning
FuelNuclear
TechnologyFast breeder reactors (DFR / PFR)
Capacity264 MW
Commissioned1962
Closed1994
RegionCaithness
NationScotland
OwnerNuclear Decommissioning Authority
OperatorNuclear Restoration Services

Why it matters

  • DFR first supplied electricity in 1962
  • PFR operated until 1994
  • Scotland’s largest nuclear decommissioning project

This summary focuses on the key facts that explain the station’s role in the wider UK generation system.

Station timeline

These timeline entries highlight the main milestones for the site, including commissioning, major changes, closure and current status where relevant.

1962 DFR electricity generation

The Dounreay Fast Reactor began supplying electricity, demonstrating fast-breeder technology at a small power-producing scale.

1974 Prototype Fast Reactor

The larger Prototype Fast Reactor entered operation, with a design electrical output of about 250 MW.

1994 Generation ended

The Prototype Fast Reactor closed, ending electricity generation at Dounreay.

2026 Decommissioning

Nuclear Restoration Services continues the long-term clean-up, dismantling and waste-management programme on behalf of the NDA.

Reading the landscape

Power-station siting reflects engineering requirements, fuel and water logistics, grid access, industrial geography and the planning frameworks of the period in which the site was developed. Dounreay Nuclear Site should therefore be read as part of a wider infrastructure system rather than as an isolated structure in the landscape.

Approx. coordinates: 58.5785, -3.7525

Source notes

  • Nuclear Restoration Services identifies Dounreay as Britain’s former centre of fast-reactor research and a current decommissioning site.
  • Historical outputs are stated as approximately 14 MW for DFR and 250 MW for PFR; the combined figure is used only as an atlas reference and was not a simultaneous commercial fleet rating.
  • Sources reviewed July 2026: NRS/NDA Dounreay material and UK government nuclear-reactor records.

Gallery notes

These notes highlight the main structures, layout characteristics and historic changes associated with the station. They are intended as a concise interpretive layer alongside the reference data, timeline and technical diagrams.

Fast-reactor development

Dounreay tested sodium-cooled fast-reactor technology rather than the Magnox, AGR or PWR systems used by Britain’s commercial fleet.

Two generating reactors

The site’s electricity-producing history spans the smaller DFR and the much larger Prototype Fast Reactor.

Decommissioning challenge

Experimental plant, liquid-metal systems and legacy fuel-cycle facilities make the Dounreay programme unusually complex.

Further record development

This record can be expanded further with licensed site plans, archival photography, demolition or redevelopment updates, fuller unit-level timelines and linked planning or environmental documentation.