Commercial operation of Russia-supplied reactor on track for this year
The first loading of nuclear fuel has been completed at Unit 7 of the Tianwan nuclear power station in China, paving the way for the commissioning process to begin.
The loading of 163 fuel assemblies began at the plant, in Jiangsu province, eastern China, on 12 August and was completed on 18 August, according to state media reports.
The plant will now be prepared for first reactor criticality, grid connection and power generation scheduled for this year, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The fuel loading was the first for a Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit in China, the CNEA said.
The station’s owner is Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture majority owned by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
CNNC said recently that commercial operation of the unit is scheduled for this year with nuclear fuel loading and grid connection expected to proceed “according to plan”.
Two VVER-1200 plants are being built at Tianwan, with construction starting on Unit 7 in May 2021 and Unit 8 in February 2022.
The Tianwan station already has six PWR units: Units 1-4 use Russia’s VVER-1000 design, while Units 5 and 6 are based on China’s own CNP-1000 design.
CNNC said Units 1-6 have cumulatively supplied electric power equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 136 million households.
The first Tianwan unit started commercial operation in 2006, while the newest, Tianwan-6, began in 2021.
CNNC previously said the eight-unit station is expected to generate about 70 TWh of electricity annually, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 15 million households.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, China has 60 nuclear units in commercial operation and 37 – significantly more than any other country – under construction.
