Hinkley Point C got the go-ahead four years ago today, with the signing of the Final Investment Decision.

Since then 2,500 companies in Britain have won contracts on the project and new figures show that spending with businesses in the South West has already passed £2.2bn.  

Bridgwater Mercury:

INSIGHT: Inside the ‘elbow’ formwork structure, which will have concrete poured around it to form the tunnel connection. The structure will act as a 5m connection between the Outfall Gallery Tunnel and Pond Shaft.

Nigel Cann, Hinkley Point C Construction Delivery Director, said: “Over the last four years our team at Hinkley Point C have driven the great progress you see on site today, demonstrating innovation and efficiency to keep hitting our milestones.

"To continue these achievements during coronavirus is a tribute to the workforce's resilience and commitment to safe working."

Bridgwater Mercury:

INVESTMENT: The first three of 15 steel columns, which will support a reinforced concrete ‘table’ where turbines will eventually sit, have been successfully installed. The impressive columns, each 15m tall and weighing 32 tonnes, give a sense of the Turbine Hall’s scale once it’s complete.

Investment in local skills and training has also taken another step forward, with Bridgwater & Taunton College set to open its new Welding Centre of Excellence, supported by Hinkley Point C.  

An EDF spokesman added: "With the Construction Skills and Innovation Centre and National College for Nuclear in Cannington, the project is determined to make sure the opportunities are there for people in Somerset to build their careers and help Britain reach net zero."

Bridgwater Mercury:

CHANGES: Progress at Hinkley C

New time-lapse video shows progress over the last four years, along with images of the latest activities from site – including a look inside the first tunnel which is already 2.5km out under the Bristol Channel. More than 1,500 concrete rings have been installed so far to line intake tunnel 1.