French energy giant EDF said it had taken ‘months of planning and close coordination’
Hinkley Point C power station in Bridgwater, Somerset(Image: Hinkley Point C)
A huge crane has installed the second reactor at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in a milestone described as “tremendous” by EDF.
The reactor was shipped from from France to Avonmouth Docks in Bristol before arriving in Somerset by barge earlier this year, with the final four miles to the Bridgwater site on a transporter.
Now French-owned energy giant EDF says it has used a crane – named ‘Big Carl’ – to lift the 500-tonne cylinder into place before its precision installation inside the reactor building.
Simon Parsons, Hinkley Point C’s delivery director, said: “This marks a tremendous achievement by the entire team and one that has taken months of planning and close coordination between the 10 main contractors involved.”
Once inside the reactor building, the 13-metre-long vessel was lifted and rotated into a vertical position by the large internal crane and lowered onto a support ring with just 40mm clearance on either side.
Mr Parsons said Hinkley had not used a “cut and paste” approach but had taken lessons from the first reactor’s installation in 2023 to save time, money and disruption to the site.
“Importantly, we are also applying those lessons to put Unit 2 well ahead of the first unit’s position at the equivalent stage, with more materials in place and more work achieved,” he said.
The Unit 2 reactor building is further ahead than at the same stage for Unit 1, EDF said, with more equipment installed, as well as more structural steel work and the outer containment layer already in place.
Big Carl lifts Hinkley Point C’s second nuclear reactor into place(Image: Hinkley Point C)
The reactor pressure vessel uses nuclear fission to make heat and steam for the world’s largest turbines, the Arabelle.
The announcement comes just months after it was revealed Britain’s first new nuclear station in a generation would face further delays at a cost of some €2.5bn to EDF, which is responsible for the project.
Hinkley Point C is set to provide six million UK homes with zero-carbon electricity when it is up and running but the project has been plagued by cost overruns and delays since it received government approval in 2016.
EDF said in February the first reactor at Hinkley Point C would start operating in 2030 – a year later than expected and nearly 13 years since work began on the scheme.
The delay is expected to take the cost of the project up to £35bn – far more than the original estimate of £18bn when the scheme was green lit. But, in reality, the final price tag could be far higher once inflation is considered as the French-owned energy firm has outlined its estimates in 2015 prices.
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