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| APRIL 2023 | UTILITY WEEK
Generation
High Viz
Landfall for reactor
The rst of two nuclear reactors that will be installed
at Hinkley Point C has arrived in Somerset.
Weighing 500 tonnes, the 13m-long reactor was
made in France before being shipped to Avonmouth
Docks in Bristol. From there it was transported by
barge to Combwich Wharf on the River Parrett in Som-
erset. The nal 6km stretch to site took a painstaking
ve hours on a transporter.
In February, EDF announced that the cost of Hin-
kley Point C would rise by a further £6 billion. The
latest cost hike was attributed to rising inˆ ation, how-
ever engineering problems and complex ground con-
ditions have previously pushed the cost up, as well
as a £500 million cost increase due to Covid-19 and
pandemic-related working restrictions. The total price
tag now stands at an estimated £33 billion.
