Site investigations have begun at the UK’s planned Bradwell B NPP, which is to be built jointly by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and EDF and which is expected to have Chinese-designed UKHPR1000 (Hualong One) reactors. The design for this is currently undergoing a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.
Some 30 people were on site for more than 40,000 hours of investigative work, with specialist firms, including Structural Soils Ltd working alongside local firms such as Scott Parsons Landscaping Services, the East Anglian Daily Times reported on 21 August. The landscaping firm’s project team used drilling rigs to complete 20 boreholes that will be used to support geophysical testing, which should be completed later this year.
Since the start of the year, more than 3,000 metres of exploratory holes have been completed and soil samples taken from each. These will now be sent to various laboratories for testing and examination as part of EDF’s engineering analysis, the paper said.
EDF is sending out a newsletter to local residents explaining the progress of the project. The Hinkley Point C NPP, under construction in Somerset, has so far spent GBP650m in the southwest region, with an additional GBP700m of contracts committed, making a regional commitment to date of more than GBP1.3bn. The newsletter said the Hinkley project aims to bring GBP4bn into the regional economy. “Bradwell B would bring significant investment into the eastern regional economy in a similar way as well as creating thousands of employment and apprenticeship opportunities in a broad range of occupations and careers,” it noted. According to the East Anglian Daily Times, EDF said it is continuing its preliminary ground investigations and gearing up for marine surveys in the autumn. These will include meteorological data from an on-shore weather station, for which a planning application has just been submitted.
CGN UK chief operating officer Robert Davies told NucNet that the site studies will last for a few years and “until we can have a detailed plan of the site we do not know the cost”. He said the project is still in its “very early stage”.
CGN UK’s parent company, CGN, is the majority shareholder in Bradwell Power Generation Company, the joint venture with EDF, which is planning to build Bradwell B. CGN also owns 35% of the Hinkley Point C. Davies said CGN is not relying on government subsidy for the Bradwell B project, although it was possible that Bradwell B might be offered some government support, depending on how future plants are financed. However, he said that CGN is able to bring debt and equity to the UK “so there will be no demands for investment funding placed on the UK government”.
Davies confirmed that the GDA for the 1,180MWe Generation III HPR1000 is ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2021. He said there is “nothing revolutionary” in the design of the reactor that would see it fail the GDA process. HPR1000 reactors are already being constructed by CGN for the Fangchenggang NPP in southern China. He said a final investment decision on Bradwell B would be made soon after the GDA approval. He said Bradwell B will be operated under UK rules and regulations and independently manned by UK staff.
