China Nuclear News Weekly Roundup – 09/17 - 10/08

Sanmen Unit 1 Began Commercial Operation on Sep. 21st

Sanmen Unit 1, the world’s first AP1000 unit, began commercial operation at 3:57 AM on September 21st. It passed the testing point of 168 hours of full-capacity operation and fulfilled the requirements for this milestone. Sanmen Unit 1 becomes the 19th operational nuclear power unit in China and increases CNNC’s installed nuclear capacity to 16716 MWe.

Tianwan Unit 4 Reaches First Criticality  

In the afternoon of September 30th, Tianwan Unit 4 reached its first criticality. Ten different physical tests will be carried out following the milestone so that ramp-up will occur safely. Five days later, on October 5th, the steam turbine had a successful first run at the speed of 1500rpm.

Progress of HPR1000 Units

Fuqing Unit 5 finished its pre-stressing work on September 25th, 8 days ahead of schedule; Fuqing Unit 6 has its primary piping shipped to site; Fangchenggang Unit 3’s RPV had a successful hydraulic testing on September 26th, paving the way for subsequent equipment installation.  

MEE: Two More HPR1000 Units Will Be Built at Ningde Units 5&6

On September 19th, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (former MEP) issued an official response to Ningde Nuclear Power Company’s Report on Ningde NPP Units 5&6’s Environmental Impact (site selection phase), formally announcing that the two new builds will be HPR1000 units. 

Steam Generators at Tianwan Unit 5 Installed

On September 27th, the third and last steam generator of Tianwan Unit 5 was successfully installed, lying a solid foundation for subsequent work such as pipe wielding.