Hinkley Point C site progress

Contracts for the UK’s first new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset were signed one year ago on September 29, 2016.

EDF Energy’s latest photography and video shows the progress on site where construction is fully underway.

• 2,000 workers are on site every day, 65,000 meals every month needed to feed the growing workforce.

• 1,500 bed “Campus” accommodation for workers under construction with 500 beds on the site and 1,000 in Bridgwater – supplied by Newark-based Caledonian Modular .

• 76 apprentices are already working on the project, which will create up to 1,000 apprenticeships during the build.
• 4 million cubic metres of earth have been excavated - that’s enough to fill Wembley Stadium.
• Two concrete batching plants are now complete. Up to 2,000 tonnes of concrete a day can be produced on site. At least 3 million tonnes of concrete will be used – 75 times more concrete than was used to build the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 10,000 tonnes of rock has already been delivered by ship from Pembroke, for the site’s new 13.5 metres high seawall.
• 29km of ground nails have been installed - enough to loop the perimeter of Hyde Park six times. The steel rods, each measuring up to 12 metres long, are used to stabilise the ground. A total of 110km will be used during construction.
• We remain on track to meet the 64% UK supply contribution with nearly £9bn of contracts signed since final approval. The latest contract with ABB Group was signed this week for the main power transmission systems for both reactors.
• 49 piles have been installed for the 500m temporary jetty in the Bristol Channel. Each pile – the foundation legs for the jetty – is 36 metres long, 3.6 metres in diameter and weighs in at 140 tonnes. The jetty will allow 80% of the aggregate to be brought in by sea rather than by road and is due to be completed next year. Devon engineering firm Blackhill worked on its largest-ever project involving 550 tonnes of steel for the jetty.
• Dozens of cranes of all sizes are already on site alongside 200 pieces of large-scale construction equipment, ranging from excavators capable of moving 30 tonnes of earth in a single scoop to giant dumper trucks. The tallest ‘tower’ crane is 40 metres tall and can lift 16 tonnes. At peak construction there will be 50 ‘tower’ cranes at site.
• £15 million is being invested into education, employment and skills to help inspire the next generation and provide people with the necessary training and support to help them into long term careers. Multi-million pound investments into a Construction Skills Centre and an Energy Skills Centre are not only ensuring that local people are equipped with the skills they need for the future, but helping to fill a national skills gap. 
• Nuclear safety concrete: after building and testing the concrete batching plant, concrete was poured for the first permanent structures on the site – a section of the power station galleries, an 8km network of connected tunnels carrying cables and pipes under the plant. 

Hinkley Point C Programme and Construction Delivery Director, Nigel Cann said: “Hinkley Point C is one of Europe’s largest construction projects and it’s already an awe-inspiring sight. Work is continuing on the temporary jetty, a defensive sea wall and the laying of circulation water system pipes. The landscape is constantly changing as thousands of tonnes of earth are excavated."

"The project is bringing together firms and expertise from across the UK and the world. We have already achieved a lot and our focus is firmly on what we need to deliver in the year ahead and beyond.”