Hinkley Point C’s offshore Reaches Final Stages
As the offshore work at Hinkley Point C in Somerset reaches its final stages, two massive jack-up vessels have arrived along the coast
Two enormous jack-up vessels, Neptune and Sea Challenger, have arrived off the coast of Hinkley Point C in Somerset to assist in the installation of vital components for the power station's cooling water system. This marks a significant milestone as the offshore work progresses towards its final phase.
The next stage in the process involves the installation of six vertical shafts at a depth of over 20 meters, which will connect six miles of tunnels with the seabed. Once installed, miners will dig a horizontal connection between the bottom of the shaft and the tunnel, linking the intake and outfall heads with the tunnels. These 5,000-tonne structures were lowered onto the seabed last summer and will circulate water to the two nuclear reactors.
The two jack-up vessels, which are commonly used for building offshore wind farms, have cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 1,500 tonnes. Sea Challenger is longer than a football pitch at 132m, while Neptune is 60m long. The vessels elevate themselves above sea level using four legs, allowing them to operate safely without being affected by waves and currents.
EDF, Balfour Beatty, and New Wave Solutions will work together to deliver this engineering feat. 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 utilizing our unique capability and unrivaled 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."
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 installation of the shafts will continue into the Autumn. This is an important chapter in the offshore works required for Hinkley Point C's critical water-cooling system, and the arrival of the two jack-up vessels marks a significant step towards the completion of the project.