EDF Energy Customers, a subsidiary of French utility giant Electricite de France, has named preferred bidders for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Britain, although HSBC Bank criticized the lofty price tag for the project this week.
Concerning contracts valued at $2 billion, EDF Energy gave nods to Balfour Beatty Bailey, a joint venture of Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey – electrical cabling and equipment installation;
Cavendish Boccard Nuclear, a joint venture made up of Cavendish Nuclear and French contractor Boccard for mechanical pipework and equipment installation;
Actan, a joint effort made up of Doosan Babcock, Axime Concept and Tunzini Nucleaire – heating, ventilation and air conditioning;
Laing O'Rourke – construction of worker accommodations;
ABB UK – power transmission;
Premier Interlink WACO UK Ltd. – construction of temporary buildings;
SPX ClydeUNION Pumps – feedwater and cooling system pumps;
Weir – cooling system pumps.
Several other contracts of note have been awarded. G4S and Aggregate have begun work, with G4S assigned a contract for security and Aggregate work on highway improvements. Operations management on site is contracted to KBR, while Jacobs has management over building construction and civil projects. Turner and Townsend, Gleeds, Mace and Faithful +Gould also have management contracts.
Approximately 60 percent of the work on Hinkley Point C is expected to go to British firms. To date, EDF Energy has already spent $17.1 million on workforce training, which is done at Bridgwater College in nearby Bridgwater.
Soon after the contract announcement was made, the British bank HSBC released a report that said the Hinkley Point C project, including two European Pressurized Reactors with a combined 3,200 Mwe capacity, was becoming “harder to justify” in terms of cost. The current price tag for the project is estimated at $38.97 billion.
The Secretary of State for Energy Amber Rudd, however, said a major deal for the plant could be signed in October during a visit to Britain by China's President Xi Jinping.