Base for second Hinkley Point C reactor completedNuclear NewsPower & OperationsJune 2, 2020, 3:42PM|Nuclear News StaffConcrete pour at the Hinkley Point C2 reactor. Photo: EDF EnergyWorkers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear construction project in the United Kingdom have completed the 49,000-ton base for the station’s second reactor, Unit C2, hitting a target date set more than four years ago, according to EDF Energy.EDF said in a June 1 news release that the pour of 8,991 cubic meters (about 317,514 cubic feet) of concrete represents a new U.K. record for a single continuous concrete pour, surpassing by 37 cubic meters (about 1,307 cubic feet) the previous record, set during the construction of the base for Hinkley Point’s Unit C1 in June last year. This latest milestone was reached despite a reduction in the number of workers at the project from 4,000 to 2,000—one of a number of actions taken by EDF to address the COVID-19 crisis.What they’re saying: "I want to thank workers and our union partners for their extraordinary efforts to make safe working possible during the pandemic,” said Stuart Crooks, Hinkley Point C’s managing director. “They have adapted to major changes in everyday behaviors and working practices, which would have been unimaginable a few months ago. The commitment of our specialist suppliers across the U.K. and in Europe has also been instrumental in helping us safely achieve this major milestone. And we must never forget the duty of care we owe to our community, whose ongoing support is vital to the success of our project.”Background: In September 2008, French utility Électricité de France announced that it had agreed to a takeover of British Energy (which became EDF Energy), operator of Hinkley Point B, a nuclear power station in Somerset with two gas-cooled reactors, and that it was planning to build an adjacent power station, Hinkley Point C, which would house two 1,630-MWe EPRs. The U.K. government approved the project in September 2016, following a favorable vote by the Électricité de France board. Hinkley Point Units C1 and C2 are scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2025 and 2026, respectively. If all goes according to plan, they will be the first new nuclear units in the United Kingdom since Sizewell B started up in 1995.Tags:edfhinkley pointsizewellShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Nuclear scores point in U.K. green planThe United Kingdom, the first of the world’s major economies to adopt a legally binding commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, has released a blueprint to help realize that goal—one that includes a substantial role for nuclear energyThe Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilize a total of £12 billion (about $16 billion) of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly skilled green jobs in the United Kingdom and spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030, according to the UK government on November 18.In addition to nuclear, offshore wind, hydrogen production, carbon capture, and vehicle electrification are also earmarked for significant investment in the 38-page document.Go to Article
Hinkley Point B to be retired earlier than plannedHinkley Point B, in Somerset, England. Photo: EDF EnergyEDF Energy has made a “proactive decision” to move Britain’s Hinkley Point B power station into its defueling phase no later than July 15, 2022—some eight months earlier than previously scheduled—the company announced on November 19.The two-unit plant, located in Somerset, England, began generating electricity in 1976 and has since produced more than 300 TWh of power, enough to meet the electricity requirements of every home in the United Kingdom for three years, according to EDF.Go to Article
To fight climate change, accept nuclear energy“The world needs a mix of renewable power sources, including one that can carry on producing power when the others can’t—the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow,” British journalist Jonathan Gornall writes in an opinion piece posted Wednesday on the Asia Times website. Gornall argues that the residents of Suffolk County in the United Kingdom would be better served by the expansion of the Sizewell nuclear power plant than by leaving a wooded area untouched.Go to Article
U.K. trade group debuts blueprint for lowering nuclear construction costsThe Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), the trade group for the United Kingdom’s civil nuclear industry, unveiled a new report yesterday that sets out a framework for cutting the cost of building new nuclear power plants in Britain.The 27-page report, Nuclear Sector Deal: Nuclear New Build Cost Reduction, is available online.Go to Article
Hunterston B Unit 3 to restart soon; plant to retire earlier than expectedWorkers on the fueling machine at Hunterston B. Photo: EDF EnergyEDF Energy has received approval from the United Kingdom’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to restart the Hunterston B power station’s Unit 3 for a limited run, according to August 27 announcements from both the company and the regulator. EDF has permission to operate the unit for up to 16.425 terawatt days (approximately six months of operation), the ONR said.EDF also announced that Hunterston B—located in North Ayrshire, along the western coast of Scotland—will begin its defueling phase no later than January 7, 2022, more than a year earlier than the expected retirement date of March 2023. The decision, EDF said, was made following a series of executive board and shareholders meetings.Go to Article
EDF fined millions for disseminating misleading information about U.K. nuclear projectThe Enforcement Committee of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has imposed a fine of €5 million (about $5.9 million) on Électricitéde France for providing false information about the Hinkley Point C new-build nuclear project in the United Kingdom. The committee has also imposed a €50,000 (about $59,000) fine on EDF’s former chairman and chief executive officer, Henri Proglio. According to a July 30 statement from the AMF, the false information was spread via an October 8, 2014, news release.The AMF is described on its website as an independent public authority that regulates the French financial marketplace and its participants.Go to Article
New design center supports construction of Hinkley Point CUK EPR Design Centre, Bristol, England. Image: EDF EnergyEDF Energy has opened a new engineering design facility in Bristol, England, to support the next phase of construction at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, the company announced on July 14. The UK EPR Design Centre at Aztec West brings together nuclear designers and engineers from EDF and British engineering partners and suppliers, including Framatome UK, Atkins, Jacobs, Assystem, Anotech, and Vulcain, the announcement said.Go to Article
Exelon, EDF ask NY to okay proposed nuclear dealExelon Generation and Électricitéde France have asked the New York Public Service Commission to approve the transfer of EDF’s 49.99 percent ownership interest in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) to Exelon, which owns 50.1 percent. CENG is the owner of New York’s Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants, as well as Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs. Go to Article
France’s Fessenheim-2 closes permanentlyFessenheim nuclear power plant. Photo: EDFAfter producing electricity generation for more than 40 years, Fessenheim-2 was disconnected from the grid on June 29, some four months after the retirement of its companion reactor, Fessenheim-1 (NN, Mar. 2020, p. 83). The action completes the closure of what had been France’s oldest operating nuclear power facility.Both Fessenheim units are 880-MWe pressurized water reactors; Unit 1 began commercial operation in December 1977, with Unit 2 going on line in March 1978.Go to Article
More nuclear a good choice for U.K., but costs must fall, report saysA report published last week by Energy Systems Catapult, a U.K.-based clean energy nonprofit, concludes that adding double-digit gigawatts of new nuclear is a “low-regrets option” for the United Kingdom as it strives to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Legislation establishing the 2050 target date was signed in June of last year, making the United Kingdom the first of the world’s major economic powers to take that step.) The report also stresses, however, that costs for new nuclear must decrease significantly for the technology to meet its potential.Go to Article