Delivering Hinkley Point C’s critical cooling system: Balfour Beatty features in New Civil Engineer

Balfour Beatty’s Hinkley Point C tunnelling and marine programme this week featured in a New Civil Engineer Project Report. The in-depth article highlights the significant benefits the project will bring in supplying safe, secure low carbon electricity to around six million homes.

Advertisement

The four-year Hinkley Point C tunnelling and marine package includes the construction of three marine tunnels - both onshore and offshore – totaling over 9.5 kilometers in length and 7 metres in diameter to form part of the vital cooling system required for the UK’s landmark nuclear power station.

Discussing the works, Alistair Geddes from Balfour Beatty and Rob Bermingham from EDF Energy, explore how challenges including minimised tunnel deviation tolerances and difficult offshore tidal conditions, have been overcome.

The report also highlights how in a first for the UK, Balfour Beatty is utilising its innovative manufacturing facility in Avonmouth to create the 38,000 pre-fabricated nuclear-grade concrete segments required to ensure that each of three Tunnel Boring Machines delivers significant efficiency savings, whilst excavating over 11 tonnes of rock per minute. 

Alistair Geddes, Balfour Beatty Project Director, said: “You talk about 38,000 segments and it makes it sound easy but it’s 38,000 nuclear concrete pours.”

“So, if you think it’s a nuclear concrete poured 38,000 times you change your mentality.”

Balfour Beatty is contracted to three major packages of works at Hinkley Point C. It was first appointed to deliver the electrical works package in 2015, now part of the MEH Joint Venture, the tunnelling and marine package in 2017 and most recently, the 400kV overhead line project on behalf of National Grid in 2019.