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Hinkley Point C nuclear power station

The UK's first new nuclear build in a generation — years more of heavy electromechanical, instrumentation and commissioning work ahead, and a well-documented case study in how schedule risk and productivity shortfalls play out on a first-of-a-kind reactor build.

Nuclear · United Kingdom (Europe) · every fact below is as reported by the linked sources, checked by hand on 2026-10-08.

Size
2 x EPR reactors, ~3.2 GW total
Operator / developer
EDF (with China General Nuclear as minority partner)
Phase, as reported
construction (electromechanical installation phase, per EDF's 2026 schedule update)
Checked on
2026-10-08

Phase track steps named in the reported phase are marked

  1. FID
  2. Engineering
  3. Fabrication
  4. Construction
  5. Installation
  6. Commissioning

Who builds it as stated by the sources

  • EDF — developer, majority owner, main contractor
  • China General Nuclear (CGN) — minority investment partner

Reported risk as reported, as of 2026-10-08

Delayed a year to 2030; total project cost risen to about £35bn (nearly double the original 2016 estimate, ~£48.7bn in today's terms), with EDF citing lower-than-expected productivity in its electromechanical installation programme; a further delay to 2031 could add ~£1bn more.

Key dates as stated by the sources

Unit1 target
2030 (revised, one year later than previous target)

Disciplines likely needed our inference

  • E&I supervision
  • mechanical/piping construction
  • QA/QC
  • construction management
  • commissioning (later phase)

Our inference from project kind and phase — not stated by the sources below.

On the Radar news about this project, each linked to its source

  1. 20 February 2026Hinkley Point C cost climbs to £35bn as Unit 1 start-up confirmed for 2030

Sources checked on 2026-10-08

  1. EDF announces Hinkley Point C delay and rise in project costWorld Nuclear News · published 2026 · retrieved 2026-09-19
  2. Hinkley Point C's cost climbs to £35bn with confirmation Unit 1 will power up in 2030New Civil Engineer · published 2026-02-20 · retrieved 2026-09-19
  3. EDF highlights Hinkley Point C's positive impactsWorld Nuclear News · published 2026-05-28 · retrieved 2026-10-08
  4. EDF: 2026 half-year resultsEDF (via GlobeNewswire) · published 2026-07-31 · retrieved 2026-10-08
  5. Hinkley Point C (project page, news items incl. 1 Oct 2026 fish-return tunnel)EDF Energy · published 2026-10-01 · retrieved 2026-10-08

Position on our globe: 51.20°N 3.13°W. Location approximate: Somerset, England.

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