Hinkley Point C connection: innovation
We are using innovation to help reduce the impact of the project and, as a result of the feedback we received during consultation, we will be using the new T-pylon for the majority of the Hinkley Point C connection.
Along parts of the route, we believe the innovative T-pylon’s lower height and contemporary design will have less of an impact on the landscape than traditional lattice pylons.
The T-pylon won a competition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects – the then Department of Energy and Climate Change – and National Grid, to find a new design of pylon for the twenty-first century.
The new design has a single pole and T-shaped cross arms, which hold the wires in a diamond ‘earring’ shape. Because of this layout, the pylon is around 35 metres high; 10 to 15 metres shorter than the traditional steel lattice pylons.
We are also looking at ways to reduce the impact of the project during construction. In some areas we may be able to use alternatives to stone roads, such as ‘floating’ roads and wooden matting. Elsewhere, we’re looking at making more use of the existing soil to construct the underground cable, thereby reducing the amount of material we’ll need to import.