OMNI Features｜U.K. Hinkley Point C Nuclear Plant Hit by New Delay and Could Cost Up to £46bn / Tidal Transit Initiate World’s First Retrofit E-CTV / Sembcorp Awarded 450 MW Wind-Solar Hybrid Project in India

EDF's Hinkley Point C nuclear plant
(Source: EDF)

｜U.K. Hinkley Point C Nuclear Plant Hit by New Delay and Could Cost Up to £46bn
According to Financial Times, Britain's flagship Hinkley Point C nuclear plant has been delayed until 2029 at the earliest, with the cost spiraling to as much as £46bn. The surging bill and slipping schedule, announced on Tuesday by the French state-owned operator and constructor EDF (Electricite de France S.A., EDF), will put pressure on the UK government to provide extra financial support for the project.

EDF, which has also experienced long delays on recent parallel projects in Finland and France that use the same reactor technology, blamed the latest problems at Hinkley in Somerset on the complexity of installing electromechanical systems and intricate piping. Hinkley was previously delayed due to construction disruption during the Covid pandemic. One of the 2 planned reactors at Hinkley Point C could be ready in 2029, a two-year hold-up compared with the company's previous estimate of 2027 under EDF's latest scenario.

The cost would now be between £31bn-£35bn based on 2015 prices, depending on when Hinkley Point C was completed. In today’s prices, the cost would balloon to as much as £46bn. The initial budget was £18bn, with a scheduled completion date of 2025. Hinkley is expected to provide power to more than 5mn UK homes, and is crucial for the country's future energy provision.

The twin-reactor scheme in Somerset is the first in a new generation of nuclear power stations intended to provide "baseload" electricity as the UK becomes more reliant on intermittent renewable energy from the wind and the sun. More nuclear plants are planned in Britain, including the Sizewell C nuclear project in Suffolk, which is also led by EDF. EDF was fully nationalized by France's government last year, in part because of huge losses after it suffered outages at domestic reactors, and was also made to foot the bill for shielding French households from power price rises during Europe's energy crisis.

｜Tidal Transit Initiate World's First Retrofit E-CTV
Tidal Transit, a supplier of purpose-design crew transfer vessels for the offshore wind industry, has begun the design and engineering phase of a project to deliver what the company claims to be the world’s first retrofit electric crew transfer vessel (E-CTV).

Over the next 15 months, the UK-based company will retrofit a diesel-powered Mercurio 20-metre vessel, Ginny Louise, with over 2 MWh of battery capacity, electric motors, and propulsion pods.

The finished product, e-Ginny, will not only be 100 per cent zero emissions in operation but also boast increased maneuverability while being near-silent for passengers and passers-by, Tidal Transit said.

Upon completion, the E-CTV will begin service on a UK offshore wind farm for a period of three years. The e-Ginny project is being carried out in partnership with Goodchild Marine Services, Artemis Technologies, and MJR Power & Automation while key equipment suppliers also include Volvo Penta, Danfoss, and the battery system from Corvus Energy.

As existing shoreside charging capabilities are severely limited, the project will expand vessel charging infrastructure by installing both an onshore charging station from Artemis Technologies and an offshore wind turbine based-charger from MJR Power & Automation to allow for direct E-CTV charging on location, greatly increasing the time and range that electric vessels can stay in operation without returning to port, according to the company.

｜Sembcorp Awarded 450 MW Wind-Solar Hybrid Project in India
Sembcorp Industries’ wholly-owned renewables subsidiary Green Infra Wind Energy Limited (GIWEL) has received the Letter of Award for a 450MW Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) connected wind-solar hybrid project from Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI). This brings Sembcorp’s gross renewables portfolio in India to 4.2GW and its gross renewables capacity to 13.5GW globally.

The project is part of a 2GW bid issued by SECI to develop ISTS-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects throughout India. Upon its completion, power output from the project will be sold to SECI under a 25-year long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). The project is expected to be ready for commercial operation within 24 months from the date of signing of the PPA.

Reference: Financial Times｜offshoreWIND.biz｜TheEdge