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Inside the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant construction project
15/10/2025
News
Join Simon Parsons, EDF’s Hinkley Point C Project Delivery Director, in a behind-the-scenes tour of what is the first nuclear plant to be built in the UK in 30 years.
Under construction in Somerset, Hinkley Point C will house two EPR pressurised water reactors that have a combined generating capacity of 3.2 GW. The first unit is due to be operational in 2029, the second hopefully in 2031. Once fully operational, Hinkley Point C is expected to meet about 10% of Britain’s electricity demand.
With the civil construction work nearing completion and the second dome in place, attention is now focusing on the plant’s fit out with pipes, cables and equipment.
The second unit at Hinkley Point C is being constructed 20–30% faster than the first unit, with prefabrication now approaching 60%. This is thanks to innovation and the experience gained from building the first reactor unit, according to Parsons. Everything learned here will also benefit Hinkley C’s planned sister nuclear facility, Sizewell C, from the start of construction, he adds.
Sizewell C is to be built on the opposite side of England, on the Suffolk coast. A final investment decision was made in July 2025 and commercial operation is expected in the mid-to-late 2030s.
