ABB has won an order of around $130 million (£99 million) to build the power transmission infrastructure for EDF Energy’s new Hinkley Point C power plant in Somerset. This will be the UK’s first new nuclear power plant to be built for a generation and will provide 7 per cent of the country’s electricity from 2025. The order was booked in the third quarter of 2017.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase ABB’s global expertise in executing large, complex and time-demanding projects,” says Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division. “It reinforces ABB’s focus on leveraging its vast portfolio, technology strengths and project management capabilities to deliver differentiated customer value and enable a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”

ABB’s Power Grids team in the UK will be responsible for the design, supply and installation of the power transmission infrastructure, including substations for two separate units that will feed 3,200 megawatts of power produced by Hinkley Point C to the national grid. The plant will be capable of supplying around 6 million UK homes with electricity. 

The project will create around 25,000 job opportunities and 1,000 apprenticeships during construction and is already one of Europe’s largest construction sites. Some 2,000 people are working at the Somerset site every day.

Stuart Crooks, Hinkley Point C Managing Director, said: “We have signed over £9 billion of contracts and this major contract marks another significant step forward for the project. Hinkley Point C is bringing together companies and expertise from the UK, France and the world. Construction is fully underway and we remain firmly focused on what we need to deliver in the year ahead and beyond.

As part of the contract, ABB will supply six 700 Megavolt ampere generator transformers, six auxiliary transformers, 400 kilovolt gas insulated switchgear, control and MicroScada systems as well as the transmission feeds to transfer power from the plant.