First Fuqing 5 steam generator installed

The first of three steam generators has been installed at unit 5 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant. The unit - the first of two demonstration Hualong One units being built at the site in China's Fujian province - is expected to start up in 2019.

The first of three steam generators has been installed at unit 5 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant. The unit - the first of two demonstration Hualong One units being built at the site in China's Fujian province - is expected to start up in 2019.

The first steam generator is moved into the containment building of Fuqing 5 (Image: China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Co Ltd)

At 11.26am on 10 November, the first steam generator for the unit was successfully hoisted onto a horizontal gantry platform some 16.5 meters above the ground. The component was subsequently moved into reactor's containment building through the main equipment transportation channel. Once there, it was be lifted into the vertical position using a specially designed tool and put in place.

The ZH-65-type steam generator - weighing 365 tonnes and over 21m in length - was independently designed by the China Nuclear Power Institute and manufactured by Dongfang Electric.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said installation of the first steam generator at Fuqing 5 has "laid a solid foundation for the start of work on the welding of the main pipe".

In November 2014, CNNC announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One pressurised water reactor (PWR) 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 2015.

The pouring of first concrete for Fuqing 5 began in May 2015, marking the official start of construction of the unit. Construction of unit 6 began in December 2015. The dome of unit 5 was installed on the containment building in May this year. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Construction of two Hualong One units is also under way at China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi province. Those units are also expected to start up in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The first of three steam generators was installed at Karachi unit 2 in September. The unit is the first of two Chinese-designed Hualong One nuclear power reactors being constructed at the site in Pakistan.

At that time, CNNC noted the main reactor equipment is being installed prior to the dome of the containment building being put in place. This approach, it said, can significantly reduce construction time, compared with the traditional method of installing equipment through a hatch in the containment.

Construction began on Karachi unit 2 in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016, with commercial operation planned for 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Pakistan's Karachi Coastal station is the first export of Hualong One units. The Hualong One design is also being promoted for use at the Bradwell site in the UK.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News