Construction gets under way of first unit at Jinqimen plant

A ceremony was held at the plant site on 10 August to mark the pouring of first concrete for unit 1, a milestone that means the unit has officially entered the construction phase, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said.

The construction of two 1200 MWe Hualong One reactors as Phase I of the Jinqimen plant was approved by China's State Council at a meeting on 29 December 2023. A ground-breaking ceremony was held in February 2024 to mark the start of work on the units.

_{(Image: CNNC)}

China's National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction licence on 5 August for units 1 and 2 at the Jinqimen plant, clearing the way for first concrete to be poured for the foundation of the reactor building of the first unit.

CNNC subsidiary CNNC Zhejiang Energy Co Ltd is responsible for project investment, construction and operations management of the new plant, which will eventually house six Hualong One units. Another CNNC subsidiary, China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corporation, is responsible for the construction of the nuclear island, conventional island, and key facilities of the Jinqimen nuclear power project.

_{(Image: CNNC)}

Once all six units have been completed, the total installed capacity of the Jinqimen plant will be about 7.2 GWe, and the annual grid-connected electricity will be some 55 TWh, which according to CNNC is equivalent to half of Ningbo's total electricity consumption in 2024. The plant, it said, will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 45 million tonnes.

Following the pouring of first concrete for Jinqimen unit 1, the number of nuclear power units under construction controlled by CNNC has reached 13, with an installed capacity of 15.138 GWe. The Jinqimen plant becomes the company's third nuclear power base in Zhejiang Province.