Hinkley Point C in Somerset has reached its biggest milestone yet — the completion of the base for its first nuclear reactor, known as “J-zero” — paving the way for the start of the construction of the plant’s buildings above ground.
The final 9,000m
3 of concrete amounted to the largest concrete pour in the UK, beating the previous record set by the Shard in London.
Reinforced with 5,000 tonnes of Welsh steel, the base has been under construction by the UK-French joint venture Bouygues-Laing O’Rourke for six months.
The event was marked by a visit at the end of last month by Andrew Stephenson, the minister responsible for nuclear energy, who also met apprentices at the nearby National College for Nuclear.
Final contracts have now been signed for the MEH Joint Venture (involving UK contractors Balfour Beatty, Cavendish Nuclear, Altrad and Doosan Babcock) to install the pipes and cables at the power station.
The pipework will be manufactured by Bilfinger in Immingham.
The construction of the second of Hinkley Point C’s two units is well under way, and the 12-month separation is said to offer maximum efficiency for the transfer of teams between the units.
Almost 4,000 people are now working at Hinkley Point C, and half of them are from the local area.
Forgings for the pressure vessel and steam generators are being produced by Framatome in France, and the world’s largest turbine is under construction at GE.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest crane — the Sarens SGC 250 — is taking shape to allow the on-site prefabrication of large parts of the nuclear plant’s buildings, which saves time.