SPECIAL REPORT | NEW BUILD
A new phase for HPC
Can Hinkley Point C’s construction team step up as the project enters a new phase?
AT THE END OF NOVEMBER last year, the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) agreed that building work at the Hinkley Point C site could move to the next phase. It is a major step up for the companies involved and for the site itself. So far, most of the activity at Hinkley Point C’s first unit has been around civil construction, but the new phase will mean the workforce will rise to 4000 as a new alliance moves in to install mechanical and electrical components. Starting the new phase of work of bulk mechanical,
electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (MEH) installation does not require a new licence from the regulator but it is referred to as a ‘hold point’ for the construction process. As such, the site operator, NNB Generation Company (HPC) Limited (NNB GenCo) has to present evidence to the regulator that it is ready to move forward. In its assessment, the regulator said the MEH fit-out
The regulator said the MEH fit-out was a“major change to the project, and is a mammoth undertaking that will involve simultaneous working on a number of different platforms, employing a large number of skilled and semi-skilled workers, including welders, pipe fitters and electricians.”
was a “major change to the project, and is a mammoth undertaking that will involve simultaneous working on a number of different platforms, employing a large number of skilled and semi-skilled workers, including welders, pipe fitters and electricians.” It noted there had been problems with this phase of construction at Flamanville in France (although those issues had not arisen at a similar project at Taishan in China). The regulator had, however, ‘closed off’ previous concerns over the company’s oversight of off-site component manufacturing. In this phase, ONR said the adequate supply, training, supervision, and oversight of the workforce throughout the installation period would be a “major challenge”, with many of the workforce new to the industry. It is not just the workforce that will be new. NNB GenCo
has established a joint venture with four existing suppliers (Balfour Beatty Bailey, Doosan, Cavendish and Altrad) in an MEH Alliance (MEHA) to deliver this phase of work over three years. Although the companies involved are very familiar to the industry, the new Alliance will have a new organisational structure designed to deliver this new
14 | April 2022 |
www.neimagazine.com
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