“Hinkley Point C – Giants on the Way to Operation”: the Process of Building One of the Largest and Most Complex Designs in Europe

“Hinkley Point C – Giants on the Way to Operation”:

the Process of Building One of the Largest and Most Complex Designs in Europe

The Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant used to supply electricity to British cities on the Somerset coast. Due to its age, it was decommissioned, but it has become a proven and suitable site for a new design of a pressurized water reactor plant.

The French company EDF Energy is constructing a nuclear power plant for the British energy company. The site of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will house two 3+ generation nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1600 MW.

The construction of a network of eight tunnels up to 200 meters long and landscape works covering 240,000 square meters to stabilize the mountain slopes required preliminary research. During the geological study, scientists discovered the remains of human settlements underground. Further planning for the construction of the power plant was possible only after the excavations were completed. According to the law, archaeologists had to investigate and determine the likely impact on the historical environment. As a result, it turned out that almost all periods of the past are represented on the site of the future power plant, including the Iron Age and Roman settlements, as well as a cemetery from the period of Post-Roman Britain dating back to the 5th-7th century AD. After completion of the field work in May 2016, archaeologists continued to study the found remains in laboratories, and EDF received permission to construct the nuclear power plant.

Construction began in December 2018, and the first unit was scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2025, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most construction activities were suspended. The construction cost of the plant grew more expensive with each passing month, delaying the commissioning date by 3 years, then 6 years, and ending in 2031. Despite the unexpected and costly delays, which amounted to €13 billion, certain construction activities continued. The pandemic spread to Hinkley Point C when 70% of the equipment had already been installed at the first unit, but due to its progress, the project was not closed and continued to develop.

The complexity of construction of a plant of such a capacity lies not only in financing and construction time, but also in the respective dimensions and quality of the equipment, which complicates its transportation. Since Hinkley Point C contains 3+ generation EPR reactors, the delivery of equipment manufactured by companies around the world for the plant requires building logistics routes between land, sea and ocean pathways. For example, the delivery of the world’s largest turbine, Arabelle, was carried out in several stages. Due to its size, the turbine, rotor, casing, and stator were delivered separately.

As of 2024, the construction of the first reactor hall, its spent fuel pool and cooling water circulation piping was completed, water intake heads were installed on the seabed, and the construction of the second unit started.