2022 has been a year of substantial progress and success at Hinkley Point C. Among a wealth of milestones there has been the completion of the power station’s water-cooling tunnels, delivery of a hugely complex marine engineering operation to successfully place the seawater intake structures into the Bristol Channel and the opening of the reactor simulator and training centre.
Earlier this week, the world’s biggest crane, Big Carl, lifted the final 11-metre prefabricated steel ring into place. Hinkley Point C’s first reactor building now stands at over 40m and is ready for the installation of its iconic domed roof next year.
The first nuclear reactor built for a British power station in more than 30 years is also now complete and ready for delivery to Somerset. The “reactor pressure vessel” is the high-strength cylinder that contains the nuclear fuel and the chain reaction needed to make heat. The heat is used to create high-pressure steam for the world’s largest turbines.
The project also continues to provide substantial, long-lasting benefits to our local communities, region and to Britain as a whole. HPC has exceeded original targets for local investment and training – having now spent over £4 billion with regionally-based businesses and trained 1,100 apprentices in a huge breadth of different skills.
Using newly-opened centres of excellence and HPC’s own on-site simulator and training centre, the focus will remain on supporting everyone, no-matter their age, background or skill level in benefitting from the training and the exciting employment opportunities available from our nationally important project.
The progress of the year is reflected in a new end-of-year film. Thousands of workers across Britain are working hard to get Hinkley Point C built – they know its reliable low-carbon nuclear electricity is essential for our energy security.
You can watch the film here: End of Year Film | EDF (edfenergy.com).
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