Bigger is better?
Having got to grips with the EDF Hinkley Point C (HPC) Nuclear New Build (NNB) programme now I can tell you that every day it blows my mind as to the scale of what is taking place. Everything is in excess. For example, it was decided that if the reactor dome could be constructed away from the reactor common raft, before being lifted into place when on completion, it would allow multiple works packages to run in parallel, saving time and therefore cost. But how do you lift something like that into place when it’s ready? Easy… you use the Sarens Super Crane!
The Sarens SGC 250
The crane has a maximum load moment of 250,000 tonnes, allowing it to lift 5,000 tonnes at a radius of 50 metres. Even at a larger radius of 100 meters, it can lift 2,000 tonnes. Although at 100 metres, it wouldn’t stretch far across our site – so its going in on rails to transit between 3 separate 360° slew points.
Its difficult to find a photo perspective that does it justice but the Sarens link here does a pretty good job; https://youtu.be/BHwbu8iWrBo
Update in response to comment: Power is supplied ‘on-board’ using gen-sets…
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
Wow E&M students can writ after all. The units for the moment are tonnesmetre but never mind the tech it is an impressive beast and features on another site a few years back (I forget the detail!) Thanks for the blog.
Fred Kiddie and Tom Docker posts of Feb & Jul 2017. Search on the blog for “crane”
Thanks for an interesting read
Is this something you’re involved with? Power supply wise I would imagine this would be an interesting study, presumably there’s some hefty HV distribution required ?
I’ve added a phot above to show but its ‘self sufficient’ and carries a number of gen-sets on the platform.
Impressive crane!
But I’ve heard a nasty rumour that while the crane rig is epic, are there a bunch of tunnels under the site that haven’t been designed for the loads from the crane as it rails across the site? Something about every piece of propping steel in the country is heading to Hinkley to support the tunnels? I guess not your area but wondered if you’d heard that.
Gen sets? What sort of size/scale are we talking?