China General Nuclear (CGN) says the dome of the containment building has been installed at unit 2 of the San'ao NPP in China's Zhejiang province. It is the second of six Chinese-designed HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactors planned at the plant. Construction of unit 1 began in December 2020 and of unit 2 in December 2021. The two units are scheduled to start supplying electricity in 2026 and 2027. The San'ao plant is China’s first nuclear power project with private equity participation.
The 238-tonne dome with a diameter of 45 metres was hoisted into place marking completion of the civil construction stage and the start of the equipment installation. The dome of unit 1 was installed in November 2022.
With all six units in commercial operation, the San’ao will generate 52.5 TWh a year, which is expected to reduce coal consumption by almost 16m tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by 43.69m tonnes a year . CGN said the plant will supply electricity “for the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta region".
CGN holds 46% of the shares of the project company Cangnan Nuclear Power with private company Geely Technology Group taking a 2% stake and other state-owned enterprises holding the rest.
Image: The dome being lifted into place at San'ao (courtesy of CGN)
