Hongyanhe 2 enters commercial operation

14 May 2014

Unit 2 at the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in Liaoning province in northeast China has entered commercial operation having completed a full-power test run. It becomes the country's 20th large power reactor in commercial operation.

The 168-hour test-run at China General Nuclear Power Corporation's (CGN's) Hongyanhe 2, completed yesterday, was the last of a series of online operational exercises before the 1080 MWe unit entered commercial operation.

The unit is a CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor, on which construction was started in 2008. Hongyanhe 2 reached criticality on 24 October 2013 and was successfully synchronised to the grid on 23 November.

Hongyanhe 1, also a 1080 MWe CPR-1000, has been operating on a commercial basis since June 2013. Two further CPR-1000 units are currently being built at Hongyanhe and are expected to start up by the end of 2015.

The Hongyanhe plant is the first to be built in the northeast of China. The site incorporates a seawater desalination plant producing 10,080 cubic metres of potable water per day.

The plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co, a joint venture in which China General Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC) and China Power Investment Corp (CPI) each hold a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10%.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News