Heavy equipment installation begins at Fangchenggang

The first of three steam generators has been put in place at unit 1 of the Fangchenggang plant in China's Guangxi province marking the start of heavy equipment installation. The unit is scheduled to begin operating in 2015.

The first of three steam generators has been put in place at unit 1 of the Fangchenggang plant in China's Guangxi province marking the start of heavy equipment installation. The unit is scheduled to begin operating in 2015.

The component is moved into position within the unit's containment (Image: CNECC)

Plant constructor China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation (CNECC) announced that the first of three steam generators for Fangchenggang 1 was successfully installed on 17 July. This marks the start of putting all the heavy equipment in place at the unit.

Steam generators are major components in a pressurized water reactor that transfer heat from the primary reactor coolant circuit to a secondary circuit, turning water into steam that drives a turbine and electrical generator.

The steam generators for the domestically-developed CPR-1000 measure about 13 metres in length, 2.5 metres in diameter and weigh about 85 tonnes. Each reactor system has three such steam generators. Those for the Fangchenggang plant are being produced by Dongfang Electric Company in China's Guangdong province.

Construction of the first of two CPR-1000, which will form Phase I of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant, began in July 2010. The first unit, whose dome was put in place in April 2012, is scheduled to begin operating in 2015, while the second will start up in 2016.

The plant is about 45 kilometres from the border with Vietnam and is a project of Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Group, a joint venture between China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co and Guangxi Investment Group. The plant is planned to eventually house six units.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News