29 Mar (NucNet): The UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has granted its first consent for the start of construction of a twin EPR nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, southwest England.
The consent covers the placement of the structural concrete for the first nuclear safety-related structure at the Hinkley Point C site.
EDF, the site licensee, will now start the placement of the first structural concrete for the station’s technical galleries.
The technical galleries are a series of underground reinforced concrete structures to be located beneath the site and some above-ground structures, connecting services such as cooling water and electricity.
Mike Finnerty, deputy chief nuclear inspector and director of the ONR’s new reactors programme, said the consent for the first nuclear safety concrete at Hinkley Point C is a key regulatory milestone marking start of construction of the first nuclear power station since Sizewell B in Suffolk.
“We have carried out extensive assessment of EDF’s safety case and preparedness for this important step at Hinkley Point C. However, this does not give consent for all elements of construction. We will continue to regulate EDF’s activities and have implemented a number of hold-points to ensure we have full regulatory control over the various construction and commissioning stages through to start of operation.”
The two EPR units planned for Hinkley Point C are expected to produce 7GW of electricity when fully operational, enough to power six million homes and provide 7% of Britain’s electricity needs for 60 years. The cost of the project has been put at £18bn (€20bn, $22bn).
