Indigenous reactor unit could begin operation this year
The loading of 177 fuel assemblies into the core of the Zhangzhou-1 nuclear power plant in Fujian province, eastern China, has begun with commercial operation planned for this year.
“The Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Unit 1 began to load the first nuclear fuel, marking the entry of the unit into the main system with nuclear commissioning stage, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent unit criticality, grid-connected power generation and other work,” state owner and operator China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said.
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued an operating licence for the unit on 12 October.
Zhangzhou-1 is the first of three 1,126-MW Hualong One, or HPR-1000 units currently listed as being under construction at the site. It is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2024 with Zhangzhou-2 to follow in 2025.
China announced last month that first safety-related concrete had been poured for a fourth Hualong One unit at Zhangzhou, although that unit is not yet listed in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) official reactor database.
CNNC has also said “preliminary work” has begun on Zhangzhou-5 and -6.
The Hualong One is an indigenous, three-loop pressurised water reactor. It incorporates elements of CNNC’s ACP1000 and China General Nuclear’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.
The Zhangzhou project is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).
According to the IAEA, China has 56 commercial reactors in operation, the same number as France and second only to the US, which has 94. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency it has 28 commercial nuclear power units under construction.
