Commercial operation at Hongyanhe 2

Friday, 28 February 2014

The second unit at the Hongyanhe plant in Liaoning province in northeast China has entered commercial operation. Two further units at the site are scheduled to begin operating by the end of next year.

The four units of the Hongyanhe plant under various stages of construction (Image: LHNPC)

The 1080 MWe Chinese-designed pressurized water reactor officially entered commercial operation on 25 February, China Power Investment Corp (CPI) announced.

The unit is a CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor, on which construction was started in 2008. Hongyanhe 2 reached criticality on 24 October 2013 and was successfully synchronised to the grid on 23 November.

Hongyanhe 1, also a 1080 MWe CPR-1000, has been operating on a commercial basis since June 2013. Two further CPR-1000 units are currently being built at Hongyanhe and are expected to start up by the end of 2015.

The Hongyanhe plant is the first to be built in the northeast of China. The site incorporates a seawater desalination plant producing 10,080 cubic metres of potable water per day.

The plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co, a joint venture in which China General Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC) and China Power Investment Corp (CPI) each hold a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10%.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News