How Will Hinkley Point C Work?

At last a deal has been agreed for the construction of Hinkley Point C. With investment from China and French-owned EDF, the nuclear power plant will be the third at the Hinkley Point site. Nuclear energy is, in itself, controversial. But will this site provide the step forward that Britain needs in terms of supplying energy? Read on and we’ll take a look at the plans.

Foreign investment

The deal itself relies on the investment of other countries. EDF (Électricité de France) is fully owned by the French state. Their two-thirds of the investment will be accompanied by another £6 billion from China. What does this mean for us? Well, it puts a big chunk of Britain’s energy supply in the hands of other countries. This means less security and potentially increased prices in the long run.

Around 25,000 jobs will be created in Britain by the construction project, along with 900 jobs when the plant is up and running in around a decade. And with a potential energy supply of 3.2 billion watts, the plant is expected to fulfil 7% of Britain’s electricity requirements. According to the BBC, this is enough to light 290 million light bulbs, charge 640 million iPhones and boil 85 million cups of tea.

So it’s all good, right?

Not quite. Critics of the deal have called it a gamble, because the proposed technology is actually out of date with relatively high costs. European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs) will be the force behind the plant. They’re based on the design of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), which have been used since the 1950s, which is why they’ve been criticised as ‘out of date’.

But it’s also unproven technology. There are currently four EPRs under construction in Finland, France and China, but as of yet none have begun production. These projects have already encountered difficulties in construction causing delays and higher costs. This is thought to have caused a lack of interest in investment, with only China willing to invest in EDF’s Hinkley project.

Nuclear waste

One of the other problems with nuclear power production is the uncertainty of waste disposal. The waste could potentially contaminate the surrounding areas. Because of this, it’s important to test areas for this kind of contamination as well as others. Groundwater sampling is one method that can be used for testing. As with all methods of testing, there are some important considerations that need to be made, which are discussed in ‘Groundwater Quality Sampling at Contaminated Sites: The Long And The Short Of It’.