Minister officially opens new training centre
Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, Greg Hands, has formally opened the new on site Hinkley Point C training Centre. The building, which houses a suite of simulators designed to be exact replicas of the main control room, represents a major step towards making the power station operational. It will be used by the project’s 96 trainee reactor operators, as well as operational support staff. The centre will also be home to more than 180 team members from pre-operations, who are busy preparing for when the power station goes online.
First heavy-duty crane bracket installed in liner ring 3
The first of 45 polar crane brackets have been installed on liner ring 3, the next section of the reactor’s containment system to be lifted into position on Unit 1. These brackets support the beam
on which the polar crane will rotate above the reactor. The crane is scheduled to arrive on site this year and will be in use during the construction phase as well as for ongoing maintenance work and refuelling when the power station is operational. Each one of the brackets weighs around 4.5 tonnes and will be installed on the third of three sections to be fabricated as part of liner ring 3 by Tissot.
Dredging underway and other works on track
Dredging works are underway as the project prepares to lift the six cooling water heads into the seabed of the Bristol Channel. The lower and upper walls of the Turbine Hall are also on track for completion. In France, the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has undergone stress-relieving heat treatment, reaching a temperature of 625°C, as part of the tests undertaken to prepare the RPV for shipment later this year.
Taken from The Point May 2022