The first of eight steam generators has been installed at unit 1 of the UK’s Hinkley Point C NPP just days after the dome was lifted into place at unit 2. The carefully planned installation saw the 520-tonne steam generator brought into the reactor building on rails, then lifted and rotated precisely into place.
During the summer, three more steam generators will be installed surrounding the reactor pressure vessel. Work to connect the reactor is already underway as the fit out of the plant continues with the installation of miles of pipe, cabling and equipment.
The 25-metre steam generator was manufactured by Framatome in France and was delivered to the site in southwest England in May 2024 after a journey by sea and road.
Construction of the first of two 1630 MWe EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C began in December 2018, with construction of the second beginning a year later. The dome for unit 1 was put in place in December 2023 and for unit 2 earlier in July.
In 2024, EDF announced that the “base case” was for unit 1 to be operational in 2030, with the cost revised from £26bn ($32.8bn) to between £31-34bn in 2015 prices. The two EPR reactors are expected to operate for up to 80 years.
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