Hinkley Point C spending in the North of England tops £1bn
During his visit to Darchem’s Stillington factory, EDF UK CEO Simone Rossi met 21-year-old apprentice Declan Gordon from Hartlepool – one of the hundreds of workers engaged in the construction of Hinkley Point C | Credit: EDF
Across Britain, investment in nuclear is proving to be an integral part of the Green Recovery.
The construction of Hinkley Point C in Somerset is the first new nuclear plant to be built in the UK for a generation. It’s an extraordinary feat of engineering expertise that will power millions of homes with zero carbon electricity for decades.
Although located in the South West, the benefits of its construction stretch far beyond. Recent figures from the 2021 Socio-Economic Impact Report show that Hinkley Point C’s spending with more than 500 businesses in the North of England has topped £1 billion. Spending that has helped create thousands of quality jobs and apprenticeships, and allowed businesses to invest in skills, productivity and industrial capacity right across the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Humber.
I had the pleasure of visiting one of these suppliers last week – Darchem Engineering near Stockton-on-Tees. The company employs hundreds of people on major contracts to build specialised tanks, stainless steel liners and other precision equipment for the plant in Somerset. The work has played a significant role in sustaining the business during the pandemic.
We’ve demonstrated how new nuclear can deliver for British businesses, jobs and industry.
Darchem recently moved manufacturing of eight 100-tonne tanks for Hinkley from the construction site to a factory in Middlesbrough, driving efficiency with modular construction close to home. Experience gained on the first reactor unit at Hinkley Point C is also helping Darchem boost productivity. Its work to install 10-tonne sump suction lines was done 40% faster on the second reactor unit – demonstrating the benefits of replication.
Hinkley Point C will support 71,000 jobs in Britain. These include new jobs recently created at Jarrow in South Tyneside where 40 new roles are being hired by KAEFER for specialised steel ductwork. On Humberside, Bilfinger is opening a new factory for high quality pipework as part of a contract expected to employ 350 people across Britain. It really is the Green Recovery in action!
This is why continued progress on Sizewell C – a direct replica of Hinkley Point C – is so crucial. We need to maintain these jobs and expert supply chains and grow them further. We’ve demonstrated how new nuclear can deliver for British businesses, jobs and industry. Continued progress for Sizewell C will give suppliers the confidence to carry on investing in skills and creating jobs.
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The Hinkley Point C Socio-Economic Impact Report 2021 can be read here.
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