Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor concrete base completed

Staff worked round the clock to pour in concrete for the foundations of the second reactor

A 49,000-tonne concrete base for the second reactor at Hinkley Point C has been completed on time.

Work at the Somerset site has been continuing during the coronavirus lockdown with social distancing measures in place to protect workers.

EDF Energy's delivery director for Hinkley C, Nigel Cann, said: "We've been really able to learn lessons and be much more efficient the second time round."

The site should be completed by 2025.

Boom cranes were used to pour in the concrete

"When we did the first one, it was the first one built in a generation so the second one came to us a bit more easily, so it shows you experience is everything," Mr Cann said.

The base was made from 20,000 m3 of nuclear grade concrete which was poured in using boom cranes.

The concrete base for the first reactor was completed in June 2019.

The next milestone is to build the roof of the first reactor.

"This is the iconic cylindrical building that will eventually hold the reactor and we are looking to do that as soon as possible in 2022," Mr Cann said.

A view of the concrete base at the Somerset site

Since the lockdown began on 23 March, EDF Energy reduced the number workers from 4,000 to about 2,000 to "enforce better social distancing" on site.

Body temperature checks were also introduced at site gates and meeting rooms were reconfigured to create extra space.