China Nuclear Energy Association reported that Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company and State Power Investment Northeast Electric Power Company said they had signed a cooperation agreement to “build, operate and maintain” the proposed facility, whuch would use cogeneration to provide district heating.
The Hongyanhe nuclear station, which has five nuclear units in operation and one under construction, is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture between China General Nuclear (CGN) and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), each holding a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Company holding the remaining 10%.
The project will provide heating to around 20,000 residents in Hongyanhe Town, Wafangdian City and Dalian City. Offsite construction is scheduled to begin in June with the facility providing heat to Hongyanhe Town next winter.
In December 2021, China put into operation a district heating system powered by residual heat from the Qinshan nuclear power station in Haiyan county in Zhejiang province, eastern China, China National Nuclear Corporation said.
CNNC said the project would help heat about 4,000 households and serve as an example for the implementation of large-scale district heating services in southern China in the future.
China’s Haiyang nuclear power station in Shandong province started providing district heat to the surrounding area in November 2020. A trial of the project – the country's first commercial nuclear heating project – was carried out the previous winter, providing heat to 700,000 square metres of housing, including the plant's dormitory and some local residents. This year the project began providing heating to the entire city of Haiyang.
Cogeneration from nuclear power means heat generated in a nuclear plant while generating electricity – heat that would normally be lost – can be used to heat households or industrial processes.
