The first shipload of material to be used in the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station has docked after a 500m-long jetty at the site was declared fully operational.
The MV Aastun, sailing from Bristol Port, was carrying 6,000 tonnes of sand. Each delivery is estimated to keep around 300 lorry loads off Somerset’s roads and client EDF Energy claimed that the use of ships will eliminate around 100,000 lorry loads over the lifetime of the jetty.
The majority of aggregates are quarried in Somerset and are being used to make concrete for the new nuclear power station, with much of it coming from Hanson UK’s Whatley quarry near Frome, where it can be transported directly by rail to Bristol Port. Other large loads are being delivered by sea to Combwich Wharf on the River Parrett.
Hinkley Point C has its own harbour master, Will Barker. He said: “The new jetty is part of our plan for helping the construction of Hinkley Point C to be both efficient and to lessen its environmental impact. The power station will play a major part in fighting climate change and its low carbon electricity will avoid the emission of over 600 million tonnes of C02. The jetty is an example of how we are making a difference during the construction phase too.”
As well as using local aggregates, Hinkley Point C using recycled industrial materials in its mix, such as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), in a bid to cut the Co2 impact of its concrete. GGBS is a by-product from steel manufacturing plants in South Wales which would usually be discarded as a waste product.
