The walls of the first reactor building at Hinkley Point C now stand 34m high, according to a video showing the latest progress on the project.
The BYLOR (Bouygues Laing O’Rourke) joint venture is building the huge nuclear power plant for electricity provider EDF. Its projected cost stands at £25bn-£26bn and it is expected to start generating electricity in 2027.
In the video, Nigel Cann, EDF’s Hinkley Point C programme and construction delivery director, gives an update on the project.
Within the reactor building, BYLOR has started to build the radial walls, which have now reached up to 19.5m high. The reactor pressure vessel is due to leave the factory at end of 2022 and will be fitted in the second half of 2023.
Mechanical, electrical and HVAC installation in the electrical building is gathering pace, with a plan to hand over 300 rooms.
The plant’s heat sink, which started as 30m-deep hole, has now been built up to ground level. It will house the drum screens that will filter out debris from sea to allow pumps to pump water into turbine hall.
And all marine tunnelling is complete, with two tunnels stretching up to 3.5km out to sea. The huge intake and outlet heads for the tunnels, the largest of which is 5,000t, are now set to be delivered by sea.
Cann said: “Recent events have really brought into focus the importance of this project from an energy, sovereignty, security and sustainability point of view. And also the important part it plays in net zero by 2050.”
