The construction of the first two 1250 MWe CAP1000 reactors – the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 – at the Lianjiang site 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 starting in September 2023 and that of unit 2 in April last year. Unit 1’s reactor vessel was installed in February and the unit is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2028.
Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Design and Research Institute – a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) – said it established a dedicated topping out team for the ancillary building, “fully leveraging the advantages of integrated construction and installation to ensure the smooth topping-out of the main structure of the powerhouse. This provided important practical experience for the subsequent construction of nuclear power units and laid a solid foundation for the safe and high-quality construction of the Lianjiang nuclear power project”.
Once all six CAP1000 units planned at the site are completed, the annual power generation will be about 70.2 TWh, which will reduce standard coal consumption by more than 20 million tonnes, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 52 million tonnes, sulphur dioxide by about 171,000 tonnes and nitrogen oxides by about 149,000 tonnes.
