Water Treatment Plant Achieves Three Million Cubic Meters of Treated Water

A water treatment plant operated by GE recently achieved a major milestone for long-term efficiency and reliability: three million cubic meters of treated water, or approximately 800 million gallons, produced for EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station on England’s south-western coast.

The water treatment plant was built by GE in 2003 and replaced an aging water treatment plant at the site. It is a build-own-operate (BOO) project; only GE operates BOO systems within the United Kingdom’s nuclear industry.

“The BOO arrangement transfers the risk and responsibility for producing treated water from EDF Energy to GE. This has allowed EDF Energy to focus on our core competency, which is producing electricity,” said Mike Davies, operations services group head for EDF Energy.

The water treatment plant at the Hinkley nuclear station, which is located near Bridgewater in Somerset, produces 55 cubic meters per hour of treated demineralised water to nuclear industry standards. The plant supplies ultra-pure water to the main boiler feed systems, the fuel cooling ponds and a variety of auxiliary circuits.

“A reliable supply of treated water is critical for the successful operation of the Hinkley nuclear station, which is a key provider of clean energy for England,” said Kerry Murphy, general manager—water outsourcing and mobile water for GE Power & Water. “By using advanced technology from GE’s water and process technologies business, the water treatment BOO plant has increased its efficiency and reliability, which in turn reduces energy consumption and environmental footprint.”