Hinkley build now at halfway, says EDF

CONSTRUCTION work at the new Hinkley Point nuclear power plant is at the halfway point days ahead of schedule despite having fewer workers on site because of social distancing rules.

EDF Energy says the Somerset coast project has got to the landmark just as the company puts in a planning application for a similar power station at Sizewell in Suffolk.

Julie Pyke, financing director for Sizewell, corrected an assertion that Hinkley C had fallen behind targets.

She told the Today programme on Radio 4: “Hinkley is not late. The construction phase of

Hinkley has met all of its construction milestones.

“Even at this moment Hinkley is completing the procedure which marks the halfway point of construction.”

The midway point work involves a series of concrete pours to lay the foundations for the second of the two reactor units.

The Western Morning News understands that phase will be completed this week.

Last month EDF said coronavirus control measures at Hinkley included cutting the number of workers on site from 4,000 to below 2,000. Work has continued during the lockdown because the power station scheme is classified of national strategic importance.

Meanwhile Hinkley – Europe’s largest construction project – has now pumped £1.7 billion into the South West economy, the company says.

The target was for £1.5bn to be spent locally, but not for another five years.

The latest socio-economic impact report for the construction project shows the money has been spent with more than 1,100 companies across the region.

Somerset has benefited from £368 million of the spend and Devon £59 million. The Bristol area has seen £448 million while £147 million has been spent in Gloucestershire, according to the report.

The target for spending in the South West was set during the planning of the new nuclear power station in 2012. EDF says it was reached early thanks to a continued focus on using local suppliers.

Karl Tucker, chair of the Heart of the South West Local

Enterprise Partnership welcomed the news that the investment target had been beaten.

“The LEP invested some £30m into training, skills and workforce development to maximise on its economic benefits,” he said.

Stephen Henagulph, chief Executive of Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said: “To have Hinkley Point C on our doorstep is a huge opportunity.”