Whitecroft Lighting has secured a contract to supply around 40,000 of the latest energy-efficient LED luminaires nuclear energy construction project Hinkley Point C.
One of the biggest civil engineering projects in Europe, the EDF Energy project located in Hinkley, Somerset, will see the construction of a two-reactor plant generating 3,200 megawatts of electricity for the next 60 years.
The deal not only marks Whitecroft’s first specialist nuclear energy contract but also the culmination of 6 years of research and development, resulting in the first LED lighting that can now be specified for the UK atomic energy industry.
Although low-energy LED lighting has become the new industry standard across most markets, the technology is still to be proven and approved for lighting nuclear energy, which to date has mainly used traditional fluorescent lighting.
Hinkley Point C operator EDF Energy was keen that HPC gain from the energy-saving benefits of LEDs where appropriate, and its preference was to use a UK lighting manufacturer.
Tony Male, Whitecroft’s Regional Sales Manager for Wales & West explains: “Innovating to the unique standards of nuclear energy encouraged Whitecroft Lighting’s custom design team into new areas of creativity and collaboration.
“In many ways, these testing regimes were as innovative as the final product, and after multiple layers of testing, we eventually demonstrated that we could deliver a viable LED solution for the zones covering around 90 percent of HPC’s estate.
Tony continues: “The unique LED luminaires manufactured for HPC by Whitecroft will be around 40% more energy efficient than traditional fluorescent lighting. Enabling LEDs to be written into the specification is a significant moment for the lighting and nuclear industry.
“The 40,000 LED luminaires supplied will equate to a saving of around 11,200KWh each day – the equivalent of lighting approximately 3,000 average family sized homes.”
Tony concludes: “Whitecroft not only saw this as an opportunity to be part of one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects but to also break new ground for lighting and set standards for the nuclear energy industry for years to come.”
Whitecroft Lighting’s first batch of specialist LEDs was delivered to HPC in May 2023, with further large consignments of luminaires and other hardware to be made throughout the site’s ongoing construction.
Find out more about this project in a case study published by the Hinckley Point C Supply Chain.
Photo credit: EDF Energy
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