Country ‘leading world’ with 20 reactors being built and more in pipeline
First concrete has been poured for the nuclear island of the Haiyang-4 nuclear power plant in Shandong province, eastern China, marking the official start of construction of the second of two reactors planned as Phase II of the station.
Construction of the CAP1000 pressurised water reactor unit means there are now 20 commercial nuclear power plants being built in China.
The official International Atomic Energy Agency figure is 19, but this does not include Haiyang-4 and two CAP1000 plants at Lianjiang in Guangdong province, southern China.
Recent reports in China said preparatory work – which precedes the more formal construction landmark of first concrete – had begun on the first phase of the foundation pit for the Lianjiang-2 nuclear island. Similar work began for Liangjiang-1 in September 2022, the reports said.
The China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) said China is leading the world in the number of nuclear power units under construction.
The CNEA said that by 2030 China is also expected to lead the world in installed capacity of nuclear power. It said nuclear power generation is expected to account for 10% of total power generation in 2035, “further increasing the importance of nuclear power in China’s energy structure to support the low-carbon transformation of the energy structure”.
The CAP1000 of the type being built at Haiyang-4 is China’s Generation III indigenous version of US-based Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurised water reactor nuclear plant.
According to Beijing-based nuclear engineering construction company China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction Company, the pouring of concrete at Haiyang-4 began on 22 April and was completed on 24 April. The operation lasted 51 hours and 10 minutes and 5,512 cubic metres of concrete was poured.
The construction of two new reactors at each of the Haiyang, Lufeng and Sanmen nuclear power station sites was approved by China’s State Council in April 2022. The approvals were for Haiyang-3 and -4, Lufeng-5 and -6 and Sanmen-3 and -4.
The Haiyang and Sanmen stations are already home to two Westinghouse AP1000 units each. Two CAP1000 units were approved for Phase II of each station.
Reports have said two indigenous HPR1000, or Hualong One, pressurised water reactors and four CAP1000 units are planned at the Lufeng site in Guangdong province, southern China. First concrete was poured for the nuclear island of the first unit, the Lufeng-5 Hualong One, In September.
2022 Approvals ‘Highest In More Than Decade’
In September 2022 reports said China had approved four further new reactors – the two CAP1000 units at Lianjiang and two Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou nuclear station in Fujian province, southeastern China.
State news agency Xinhua and the CNEA said the approvals brought the number of approved new nuclear power units to 10 in 2022, the highest yearly number in more than a decade.
China is aiming to increase its installed reactor capacity from 51 GW at the end of 2020 to 70 GW by 2025, state media outlets reported.
Luo Zuoxian, head of intelligence and research at the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute, said nuclear power, together with clean coal and gas power, will play a crucial role in ensuring the stability and consistency of a new power system dominated by new energy in the country.
According to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the government wants to have 70 GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2025, up from 51 GW at the end of 2020 and an increase of more than 40%, after failing to meet its previous target of having 58 GW of installed capacity by 2020.
According to the IAEA, China has 56 commercial reactors in operation providing about 5% of its electricity production.
The China Nuclear Energy Association said China is leading the world in the number of nuclear power units under construction.
