Building Hinkley Point C - BBC iPlayer

[AGTDenton]

If you love large scale building projects here's an interesting documentary on our next Nuclear power station.

Building Britains Biggest Nuclear Power Station on BBC iplayer

With unique behind-the-scenes access, this series follows the construction workers at Hinkley Point C, Britain’s biggest and newest nuclear power station, which is being built in a remote corner of the Somerset countryside.

With a price tag of over £22 billion and covering an area the size of 250 football pitches, this extraordinary construction site is one of the largest in Europe and the UK’s first new nuclear power station for a generation.

This series follows the engineers, technicians and the behind-the-scenes staff who are under pressure to keep the project on track, including building the mammoth foundations for the two nuclear reactors, excavating 3.5km cooling water tunnels out under the Bristol Channel and constructing the critical airtight inner steel lining, designed to contain any radioactive material in the unlikely event of a meltdown.

So far only 1 episode has been shown.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...es-1-episode-1


Got to say, 60 years of energy production isn't a very long time.
I wonder if this will be our last fission based reactor, before moving over to fusion....

[kalniel]

on our next Nuclear power station.

"Our" might need to be in speech marks, given the franco-sino nature of this station

[TeePee]

If you love large scale building projects here's an interesting documentary on our next Nuclear power station.

Building Britains Biggest Nuclear Power Station on BBC iplayer



So far only 1 episode has been shown.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...es-1-episode-1


Got to say, 60 years of energy production isn't a very long time.
I wonder if this will be our last fission based reactor, before moving over to fusion....

There's a good chance it will be the last Nuclear Reactor in the UK, period. China will likely build many Fusion reactors, while the West cuts and restricts industry and development to survive on Wind and Solar power.

[AGTDenton]

There's a good chance it will be the last Nuclear Reactor in the UK, period. China will likely build many Fusion reactors, while the West cuts and restricts industry and development to survive on Wind and Solar power.

We're doing quite a bit of testing in fusion. I think it would be odd if we didn't end up building one.

https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4...roduces-plasma

[Ttaskmaster]

We're doing quite a bit of testing in fusion. I think it would be odd if we didn't end up building one.

I imagine we'll make astounding leaps and bounds in all sorts of technology involving this, and then just before we actually build the first working example of the greatest thing since cellular division... we'll sell it all to the Americans.
That is generally how we seem to do such things.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I imagine we'll make astounding leaps and bounds in all sorts of technology involving this, and then just before we actually build the first working example of the greatest thing since cellular division... we'll sell it all to the Americans.
That is generally how we seem to do such things.

We already did it with the precooler technology developed by Reaction Engines:
https://www.reactionengines.co.uk/ne...abre-precooler
https://www.ukspace.org/reaction-eng...at-conditions/

[Jonatron]

Thanks for the recommendation. I kept thinking when watching it'd be easier to build more smaller reactors rather than two mega-reactors: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54703204 . Electricity prices in the UK are so high at the moment I think any more supply will help.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the recommendation. I kept thinking when watching it'd be easier to build more smaller reactors rather than two mega-reactors: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54703204 . Electricity prices in the UK are so high at the moment I think any more supply will help.

Some of the smaller reactors have what is called a natural circulation design,which avoids the need for complex pumping systems. So they might end up simpler too. IIRC,naval nuclear reactors were amongst the first to try and implement this because it is noticeably quieter.

Edit!!

[AGTDenton]

I imagine we'll make astounding leaps and bounds in all sorts of technology involving this, and then just before we actually build the first working example of the greatest thing since cellular division... we'll sell it all to the Americans.
That is generally how we seem to do such things.

Pretty spot on:

A company backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos is set to build a large-scale nuclear fusion demonstration plant in Oxfordshire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57512229