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EDF has announced that it has completed the concrete base for the second of the two reactors at Hinkley Point C.
Despite sending home around half of its workforce in March, the company said the milestone has been achieved on schedule, meeting a target set back in 2016.
The base for the first reactor was completed in June 2019. EDF said it has made significant gains in productivity between the two, partly due to the increased use of pre-fabrication. This includes the installation of a new robotic factory to assemble steel mesh for reinforcing concrete.
EDF said these gains in efficiency will be carried over to its sister project, Sizewell C, for which the company submitted its planning application earlier this week.
Picture: Concrete being poured for the second reactor base
Hinkley Point C Managing Director Stuart Crooks said: “I want to thank workers and our union partners for their extraordinary efforts to make safe working possible during the pandemic. They have adapted to major changes in everyday behaviours and working practices which would have been unimaginable a few months ago.
“The commitment of our specialist suppliers across the UK 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 on-going support is vital to the success of our project.
“Hinkley Point C has a strong culture of learning and innovation which is leading to improved productivity as we get ahead building our second identical reactor. This experience is a great basis for further identical reactors at Sizewell C in Suffolk.”
Picture: ‘Nuclear island’ for first reactor
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