Hinkley Point C Ready for Dome Lift
New picture show Hinkley Point C’s progress as teams at the new nuclear power station get ready to lift the domed roof onto the second reactor building this summer.
The image show that construction of Unit 1’s buildings is almost complete, as the installation of equipment accelerates inside. Meanwhile the second unit, which was stopped during the pandemic, is catching up with its 245-tonne dome due to be lifted over the summer. This will allow it to move into its fit-out phase.
Progress has been helped by a transformation in the way the power station is being built with prefabrication in civil construction now approaching 60%, effectively making Hinkley Point C a “Large Modular Reactor”. More factories on and off site mean larger giant pieces are being lifted into place with big productivity gains, like the recent 170 tonne staircase “megalift” or using crane Big Carl to lift in completed rooms in one piece.
The experience gained by the team means Unit 2 is faster to build than Unit 1. At dome lift for Unit 2, the second reactor building will be further ahead with more equipment installed than at the same point on Unit 1. For example, on Unit 2’s civil construction, fewer people on site will have achieved 40% more work than on Unit 1. The amount of structural steel inside the building will be almost 300 tonnes versus just 10, and 44 of the radiation-proof “neutron” doors will have been installed versus 24 at the same point for Unit 1. Assembling the huge polar crane is proving 40% faster.
Stuart Crooks, Chief Executive Officer of Hinkley Point C, said: “Prefabrication and modular construction are transforming the way we build the power station, with big gains for our second identical unit. The innovation and experience we are developing at Hinkley Point C will benefit our twin project at Sizewell C from the start.
“We have trained a new workforce and built the nuclear supply chain. Now those skilled workers and businesses can give Britain the energy security and economic growth it needs at Sizewell C, together with Small Modular Reactors and future large nuclear plants.”
