First concrete for sixth Fuqing unit

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Construction has started on the second Hualong One reactor at the site of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province.

Construction starts on Fuqing 6 (Image: CNNC)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) general manager Chen Hua announced the start of construction of the unit today, the company said in a statement.

The pouring of first concrete for the reactor's basemat marks the official start of construction of the unit, the second of two Hualong One units planned for the Fuqing plant.

In November 2014, CNNC announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One reactor design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry.

China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April. Construction of unit 5 began on 7 May. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Units 1 and 2 of the Fuqing plant - both with CPR-1000 reactors - entered commercial operation in November 2014 and October 2015, respectively. Construction started on units 3 and 4 - also featuring CPR-1000 reactors - in December 2010 and November 2012, with both units set to be in operation by 2017.

The Fuqing nuclear power plant project is owned by CNNC subsidiary China Nuclear Power Company (51%); Huadian Fuxin Energy Company (39%); and Fujian Investment and Development Group (10%).

Hualong One development

In 2012 central planners in Beijing directed CNNC and the other large nuclear builder and operator, China General Nuclear (CGN), to 'rationalise' their reactor programs. This meant CNNC's ACP1000 and CGN's ACPR1000 were 'merged' into one standardised design - the Hualong One.

In fact, each company has its own supply chain and their versions of Hualong One will differ slightly (units built by CGN will use some features from the ACPR1000), but the design is considered to be standardised. It is set for wide deployment in China as well as export to other countries.

CGN's version of the reactor design has already been approved for use at units 3 and 4 of its Fangchenggang site, although construction has yet to start on those units.

Although it is still officially listed as being ACP1000, Pakistan's Karachi Coastal Power station is likely to be the first export of Hualong One units. In February, China and Argentina agreed to cooperate on construction of a Hualong One reactor in the South American country.

In October, CGN agreed to form a joint venture company with EDF Energy to seek regulatory approval for a UK version of the Hualong One design. Fangchenggang 3 and 4 will be the reference plant for the proposed Bradwell B plant in the UK.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News