The life of Scotland’s last nuclear power station and three other plants in England is to be extended.

EDF Energy says Torness, in East Lothian, and its sister site Heysham 2, in Lancashire, will continue to produce for a further two years, until 2030.

Two other sites – Hartlepool and Heysham 1 – will continue to operate for a further year until 2027.

The French state-owned company says it will now invest £1.3 billion in its operational nuclear fleet over the next three years.

Torness employs around 550 people and a further 180 contractors also work on site.

It began generating electricity in 1988 and was initially scheduled to be decommissioned last year.

Construction work on Hartlepool Power Station began in 1968 and took 15 years to complete. Heysham 1 began production in 1983, followed by Heysham 2 five years later.

As a result, it was announced in 2021 that the closure dates for Torness and Heysham 2 would be brought forward by two years again, to 2028.

EDF claims to have spent several years studying the evolution of cracking and engineers believe they understand the issues better.

Regular inspections will be carried out to ensure sites can continue to operate safely.

The four power plants support around 3,000 workers and can produce up to 4.6 gigawatts of electricity.

This is enough to power around 4.5 million homes.

The decision to extend the life of the plants will help bridge the gap before EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset begins generating around 2030.

The company made the decision after a year-long review of all four locations.

A separate study is examining the possibility of extending its Sizewell B facility in Suffolk for a further 20 years.

Mark Hartley, managing director of EDF’s nuclear business, said the decision to continue operating all four sites was testament to the work of the workers and the billions invested.

He added: “When EDF acquired these plants in 2009, they were all due to end production by early 2023, which would have left the UK with just one nuclear generating station at Sizewell B.

“Careful management and around £8 billion of investment has resulted in the lifespan of these stations being extended several times over and production much higher than expected.”

This decision was welcomed by the National Energy Systems Operator, a new public body responsible for connecting production projects to the network.

It says nuclear will play an important role in the UK’s energy mix until 2030, then with new capacities until 2050.

EDF affirms that keeping existing installations in operation will make it possible to preserve some of the skills necessary for new nuclear power.

The UK government says the move is “strong support” for its clean energy mission.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband added: “These extensions are a major victory for our energy independence.

“We cannot achieve clean energy by 2030 without nuclear, which provides a constant and very important supply of local clean energy.”