Hinkley Point Power Station - from the Quantock Hills - geograph

Hinkley Point is a headland on the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

coast of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, north of

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

and west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. Excavations in 2014 and 2015, carried out by Cotswold Archaeology and funded by

Électricité de France Électricité de France SA (; ), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational corporation, multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France. Headquartered in Paris, with €139.7 billion in sales in 2023, EDF ope ...

(EDF) in preparation for the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, discovered a farming settlement at the site dating from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and then a post Roman cemetery. Hinkley Point adjoins Bridgwater Bay, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and nature reserve, and is a popular location for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and fossil hunting. A visitor centre in

gives access to information, as well as running tours of the plant. There is also a nature trail which features plants, birds and butterflies. The exposed location of Hinkley Point meant that it was considered ideal for wind generation. However, a proposal to build 12 wind turbines close to the site of the nuclear power stations was turned down in October 2005. The reason given by

West Somerset District Council West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word pass ...

for the rejection was safety fears over what would happen were a turbine blade to detach and hit "something or somebody".

Nuclear power stations

The landscape of Hinkley Point is dominated by three nuclear power stations: * Hinkley Point A, with two Magnox reactors (1965–2000) * Hinkley Point B, with two

Advanced gas-cooled reactor The advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) is a type of nuclear reactor designed and operated in the United Kingdom. These are the generation II reactor, second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using Nuclear graphite, graphite as the neutron ...

s in one building (1976–2022) * Hinkley Point C, with two European Pressurised Reactors (under construction since 2017) In 2008, the Brown Government announced its support for a third nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. EDF Energy plan to build a power station consisting of two European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) units, called Hinkley Point C, subject to electricity pricing agreement with the government. HMG said in 2008 that the new Hinkley Point and Sizewell C power stations would contribute 13% of UK electricity in the early 2020s. While the initial constructor EDF was in critical financial trouble, contracts were signed to bring the China General Nuclear Power Group on board in September 2016. Hinkley Point C is projected to use three million tonnes of concrete and 230,000 tonnes of steel reinforcements. One of its claims to fame is that the project was as of 2020 "the most expensive nuclear power station in the world".

References

{{Authority control West Somerset Headlands of Somerset