Covid impact on Hinkley Point C won't be known until 'we're at the end of the pandemic'

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The impact of Covid-19 on the building of a new nuclear power station in Somerset won't be known until the pandemic ends, according to the project's delivery director.

Nigel Cann, from EDF Energy, said his team had "hit some key milestones" at Hinkley Point C but they won't know the full impact of coronavirus "until we get to the end of it".

The power station is targeting to start generating power from Unit 1 by the end of 2025. However there have been reduced numbers of workers on site this year.

Hinkley Point C is now a 24/7 building site, with work continuing around the clock Credit: ITV News West Country

"2020, for all of us, has been a test of resilience," Mr Cann said. "We’ve not worked as efficiently as we could have done through this year and there will be a cost to that.

"We’re not at the end of this pandemic, at the moment, and until we get to the end of it we won’t really know the impact from a cost point of view, from a schedule point of view.

"What I can say is we’ve done everything we can to keep this site moving forward and we’ve hit some key milestones."

Hinkley Point C's building site is dominated by 'Big Carl', the largest land-based crane in the world Credit: ITV News West Country

The dozens of cranes helping to create Hinkley Point C gives an idea of the sheer scale of the extraordinary building site. It is a site dominated by the affectionately named ‘Big Carl’, the largest land-based crane in the world.

The power station is a key part of the government's plan for a green energy future in the UK. It currently has a net zero carbon emissions target of 2050.

Hinkley Point C will be the first in a new generation of nuclear power stations in the country and will be capable of generating low carbon electricity for 60 years - approximately 7% of the UK's energy needs.

Workers like Savannagh Armstrong have had to adapt to new working conditions this year Credit: ITV News West Country

However, the project has been hit by Covid-19 this year with some staff testing positive for the virus and restrictions leading to a reduction in the number allowed on site.

It has meant big changes for the likes of Savannagh Armstrong, a business architect on the project. She said: "The main impact it's had on me is learning to work in a completely different environment.

"I started working at Hinkley when I was 18 and I've been so used to this ever-growing environment and always being on site. So for me, who's never worked from home before, it was a massive transition to have to learn to change my way of working but still getting the job done."

Driver Simon Roberts has taken on new duties including delivering kit to people's homes Credit: ITV News West Country

Simon Roberts is a driver at Hinkley Point C. Used to moving people around the site, his role has changed. He said: "I've been doing other duties now, delivering laptops to people's houses so they can work from home, taking masks to Musgrove Park Hospital and collecting people who can't get here by train."

Delivery director Nigel Cann, said: "I’m really pleased with the way the team here has stepped into the challenge.

"Right from the beginning, in March, we’ve worked really hard to create a Covid-secure site here. When you walk into the site, you notice we’ve got a lot of Cornish buses here - we’ve had to really increase our bus fleet and actually decrease the amount of people we’ve got on buses.

"We’ve got temperature checks at the gate, we’ve got a robust testing regime here now, which includes random testing and blanket testing to really try and curb the risk as quickly as possible to both the site workers and the local community."

Hinkley Point C will be the third nuclear power station built on the West Somerset coastline. 'A' was decommissioned in 2000 and it has been announced that Hinkley Point B will begin de-fuelling by July 2022.