Latest Chinese reactor vessel installation

Thursday, 29 August 2013

The reactor pressure vessel has been installed at the first new reactor of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in western China.

The heavy component is rotated after entering the reactor building equipment hatch, then lowered into place (Image: CNPEC)

Construction started just over three years ago with the laying of the concrete basemat for the reactor building. Main contractor China Nuclear Power Engineering Corp (CNPEC) reached a new milestone on 27 August by placing the pressure vessel inside which the unit 1's reactor core will produce heat for power generation.

Fangchenggang is located near Hongsha village in the Guangxi Autonomous Region, about 45 kilometres from the border with Vietnam. A total of six reactors are planned to operate there. Units 1 and 2 are CPR-1000s, units 3 and 4 are planned to be the evolutionary ACPR-1000 development, and units 5 and 6 are to be AP1000s. All of these are models of large pressurized water reactor.

Units 1 and 2 are slated to begin operation in 2015 and 2016. The plant is 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% owned by China General Nuclear (CGN) which also owns CNPEC.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News