The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has been installed at unit 1 of China’s Lianjiang NPP in Guangdong province – the first of two CAP1000 reactors planned for the first phase of the project. The RPV, manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group, was delivered to the Lianjiang site in February.
The Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute (SNERDI) noted that during the preliminary preparations for lifting the 271-tonne RPV, integrated installation technology for the RPV shell insulation was used for the first time. This “effectively reduced on-site cross-construction, greatly improved construction efficiency, and provided new technical ideas and reference solutions for the construction of nuclear power projects”.
SNERDI – a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) – said the installation marks “the beginning of the installation of the main system equipment of the nuclear island and lays a solid foundation for the subsequent main pipeline installation”.
With a total investment of CNY130bn ($18.1bn), Lianjiang NPP is designed to have six 1250 MWe CAP1000 pressurised water reactors, the first of which is scheduled to be operational in 2028. Phase 1 will comprise two units. Lianjiang is expected to run in conjunction with hydrogen plants and power storage stations in the area as part of an integrated energy base. It will be China’s first NPP to have a recirculating seawater cooling system with super-large cooling towers.
Construction of the first two CAP1000 reactors was approved by China’s State Council in September 2022. Excavation works for the units began in the same month, with the pouring of first concrete for the foundation of unit 1 completed at the end of September 2023 and for unit 2 in April 2024. Lianjiang unit 1 is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2028.
