Third Fuqing unit enters commercial operation

Unit 3 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has completed commissioning tests and now meets the conditions for entering commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation announced today.

Unit 3 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has completed commissioning tests and now meets the conditions for entering commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today.

The control room of Fuqing 3 (Image: CNNC)

The loading of all 157 fuel assemblies into the core of the 1087 MWe CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor was completed on 4 April and it achieved first criticality on 3 July. The unit was connected to the grid on 7 September.

Since then, a series of commissioning tests have been conducted at the unit, including a load test run and a test run lasting 168 hours. Although CNNC must still obtain necessary permits and documentation, the unit can now be considered to be in commercial operation.

The Fuqing plant will eventually house six Chinese-designed PWRs, the first four being 1087 MWe CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors. Unit 1 started up in July 2014, was connected to the grid the following month and entered commercial operation in November. Unit 2 achieved first criticality in July 2015 and entered commercial operation last October. Ground was broken in June 2009 for Fuqing unit 3 and 4. Unit 4 is scheduled to start up in 2017.

China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April 2015. First concrete was poured for the fifth unit in the following month, while that for unit 6 was poured in December. These will be demonstration indigenously-designed Hualong One reactors. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

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%).

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News