Wood awarded Hinkley Point C services contract

11 June 2019

Wood plc has been awarded a "multi-million dollar" contract by EDF Energy to provide engineering and technical services to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant under construction in Somerset, UK.

Construction work on unit 1 of the Hinkley Point C plant (Image: EDF Energy)

Effective immediately, the Hinkley Technical Support Alliance (HTSA) agreement will last for five years with an optional five-year extension.

Under the agreement, Wood will provide EDF Energy with full life cycle services to improve project delivery and commercial performance. Covering technical and engineering services across all elements of the project, Wood said the HTSA agreement will also improve the project's technical supply chain delivery.

Wood already provides similar professional services to EDF Energy Nuclear Generation under a long-term agreement to support the UK's eight existing nuclear power plants.

At Hinkley Point C, Wood provides construction design management advisory services, safety case and engineering support, and equipment qualification services in several key areas. Wood is also the project's sole supplier for independent verification of ultrasound inspections on safety critical components.

"We are looking forward to providing additional support to EDF Energy on a project which is vital to the UK's energy security and the transition to a lower carbon energy mix," said Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood's Specialist Technical Solutions business. "This positions us as a key strategic partner at Hinkley Point C, maintaining our track record of playing a key role in every UK nuclear new build project since the inception of the industry."

Under a deal agreed in October 2015, China General Nuclear took a 33.5% stake in EDF Energy's project to construct HPC. It is the first new nuclear power station to be built in the UK in almost 20 years.

With two EPR reactors designed by Framatome, Hinkley Point C is planned to supply about 7% of UK electricity, with the first reactor starting up in 2023.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News