Mega Projects

Latest Images Show Progress At Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station

Hinkley Point

Latest images from the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station show remarkable progress since the first reactor’s base was completed last year.

The multibillion-pound project is now focused on completing the base of the second reactor this year at the site in Bridgwater, Somerset.

The first reactor's base was completed last year (Ben Birchall/PA)
The first reactor’s base was completed last year (Ben Birchall/PA)

Around 5,000 workers are busy each day keeping the project on target for producing power by 2025, according to operator EDF Energy.

The power station will supply 7% of the UK’s electricity needs from the mid-2020s.

Full construction at Hinkley Point C got under way after EDF, its Chinese partner CGN and the Government signed final contracts in 2016.

Full construction at Hinkley Point C got underway in 2016 (Ben Birchall/PA)
Full construction at Hinkley Point C got under way in 2016 (Ben Birchall/PA)

Alongside building the first reactor, the project reached a number of other major milestones last year.

Construction of the 760-metre sea wall was completed, and the world’s largest crane, nicknamed Big Carl, completed its first large lift on-site in December.

Construction has begun on the first permanent buildings above ground at the site (Ben Birchall/PA)
Construction has begun on the first permanent buildings above ground at the site (Ben Birchall/PA)

It stands at 250 metres tall and is capable of lifting 5,000 tonnes.

Some 6.6 million cubic metres of earth have been excavated for the project, and 500,000 cubic metres of concrete have been poured.

Emma Bowden
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