Hinkley Point C nuclear power station

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC)
A 3D model of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station
Map
CountryEngland, United Kingdom
LocationHinkley Point, Somerset, South West England
Coordinates51°12′21″N 3°08′34″W / 51.2059°N 3.1429°W / 51.2059; -3.1429
StatusUnder construction
Construction beganMarch 2017[1]
Commission dateEstimated 2029–2031 (2029–2031)[2]
Construction cost£31–35 billion in 2015 prices;[2] £41.6–47.9 billion in 2024 prices[3]
Owner
EDF Energy(70.5%)
China General Nuclear Power Group(29.5%)[3]
OperatorNNB Generation Company
Employees6,300 on-site construction workers
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR - EPR
Reactor supplierFramatome
Cooling sourceSea water from Severn Estuary
Thermal capacity2 × 4,524 MWt (planned)
Power generation
Make and modelEPR-1750
Units planned2 × 1,630 MWe
Nameplate capacity3,260 MWe (planned)
External links
Websitehttps://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC) is a two-unit, 3,200 MWe EPR nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England.[4]

The site was one of eight announced by the British government in 2010,[5] and in November 2012 a nuclear site licence was granted.[6]

On 28 July 2016, the EDF board approved the project,[7] and on 15 September 2016 the UK government approved the project with some safeguards for the investment.[8] The project is financed by EDF Energy and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN).[9] The final cost was to be £18 billion in 2015 prices.

When construction began in March 2017 completion was expected in 2025. Since then the project has been subject to several delays, including some caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,[10] and Brexit, and this has resulted in significant budget overruns. As of May 2022, the project was two years late and the expected cost stood at £25–26 billion (2015 prices, excluding interim interest),[11][12] 50% more than the original budget from 2016. In EDF's 2022 annual results published on 17 February 2023, the cost was £31–32 billion in 2023 prices, Unit 1 had a start date of June 2027 and a risk of 15 months further delay.[13][14][15] In January 2024, EDF announced that it estimated that the final cost would be £31–35 billion (2015 prices, excluding interim interest), £41.6–47.9 billion in 2024 prices, with Unit 1 becoming operational in 2029-2031.[16][17][18][3]

  1. ^ "Work starts on Hinkley Point C - new pictures reveal epic scale of project". Bristol Post. March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b Dalton, David (24 January 2024). "Hinkley Point C / UK Nuclear Station Could Be Delayed To 2031 And Cost Up Top £46 Billion, Says EDF". Nucnet. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "EDF 2024 Half Year Results" (PDF). p. 33.
  4. ^ "Government closes 'historic' deal to build first nuclear plant in a generation". ITV News. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Nuclear power: Eight sites identified for future plants". BBC News. 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc261112 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian-20160728 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference govuk-20160915 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Hinkley Point nuclear agreement reached". BBC News. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Hinkley Point C delayed by a year as cost goes up by £3bn". BBC News. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Hinkley Point C delayed by a year as cost goes up by £3bn". BBC News. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Hinkley Point C Update | EDF FR". www.edf.fr. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  13. ^ "EDF faces shouldering more of soaring bill for Hinkley Point". Financial Times. 17 February 2023. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  14. ^ "EDF Says Price Tag of UK Nuclear Power Plant Soars on Inflation". Bloomberg. 18 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  15. ^ "EDF 2022 Annual Results" (PDF). 17 February 2023. p. 25.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc-20240124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference wnn-20240123 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Hinkley Point C Update | EDF FR". www.edf.fr. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.