The final phase of offshore work on Hinkley Point C has begun - as two vast 'jack-up' vessels arrive on site. The project is due to be completed in September 2028 at a projected cost of £23.7 billion.
The vessels will install vital components for the power stations cooling water system - and have been appropriately named 'Neptune' and 'Sea Challenger'. The vast machines - with 'Sea Challenger' coming in at 132 metres long, or longer than a football pitch, and 'Neptune' hitting 60 metres - are often used to build offshore wind farms.
The vessels use their four legs to elevate above sea level, allowing them to operate safely without being impacted by waves or currents. The platforms' cranes have a combined lifting capacity of 1500 tonnes.
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Vertical shafts will be installed 20-meters below the surface of the water and will be using to connect six miles of tunnels with the seabed. Miners will then dig a horizontal connection between the base of the shafts and the tunnel to link 5000-tonne intake and outfall heads which were lowered onto the seabed last summer and will be used to circulate water to the two nuclear reactors.
Jonathan Smith, Area Delivery Director, said: “This is one of the final stages of our offshore operations, which will see teams from EDF, Balfour Beatty and New Wave Solutions working together to deliver yet another incredible feat of engineering.
"The cooling water system is critical to the power station – which will help Britain fight climate change and achieve stronger energy security.”
Roger Frost, Balfour Beatty Project Director, said: “The arrival of Neptune and Sea Challenger marks another significant step forward in the successful delivery of the first new nuclear power station in the UK for over 20 years.
“We now look forward to utilising our unique capability and unrivalled expertise to continue with the linking up of the six miles of tunnels which are buried below the Bristol Channel – this is another important chapter in the offshore works required for Hinkley Point C’s critical water-cooling system.”
Work to install the shafts will continue into the Autumn.
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