June 17, 2021
Unit 5 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in the Chinese province of Liaoning has achieved a sustainable chain reaction for the first time. The domestically constructed ACPR1000 pressurized water reactor with 1080 MWe is scheduled to go online this year and then go into commercial operation.
The Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in Liaoning Province (Image: Dalian)
Hongyanhe 5’s first pre-critical checkpoint was signed and cleared on June 12 at 9:22 a.m., the National Nuclear Safety Administration, which oversaw the process, announced yesterday.
Construction of Phase I (Blocks 1-4) of the Hongyanhe Plant, consisting of four CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors, began in August 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014, respectively, while Unit 3 was in operation into commercial operation in August 2015 and Unit 4 in September 2016.
Phase II of the Hongyanhe plant – units 5 and 6 – comprises two ACPR-1000 reactors with an output of 1080 MWe CGN. Construction of Unit 5 began in March 2015 and that of Unit 6 began in July of the same year. The cold function test of Unit 5 began on October 10, 2019, marking the start of the commissioning phase.
At the end of December 2019, CGN announced a change in the schedule for the commissioning of units 5 and 6. It was said that the units are now expected to go into operation in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, a year and six months later than originally planned.
The Hongyanhe facility is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture between China General Nuclear (CGN) and State Power Investment Corporation, each with a 45% stake, while Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Company has the holds the remaining 10%.
The ACPR-1000 – a three-loop unit with a double containment and core catcher – was launched by CGN in November 2011. This meant that CNNC’s ACP1000 and CGN’s ACPR-1000 were “fused” into one standardized design – the Hualong One (HPR1000). Yangjiang Units 5 and 6 were the first ACPR-1000 units to go into commercial operation in July 2018 and July 2019, respectively.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
Comments are closed.