CNNC to construct prototype floating plant
15 January 2016
A demonstration floating nuclear power plant based on China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC's) ACP100S small reactor will be built by 2019, the company announced today. The move comes just days after China General Nuclear (CGN) said it will build a prototype offshore plant by 2020.
.jpg "ACP100S floating plant - 460 (CNNC)") |
| How CNNC's floating plant could appear (Image: CNNC) |
CGN announced on 12 January that development of its ACPR50S reactor design had recently been approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan for innovative energy technologies. CNNC today said that its ACP100S reactor - a marine version of its ACP100 small modular reactor (SMR) design - had also been approved by the NDRC as part of the same plan.
CNNC said its Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) subsidiary had completed a preliminary design for a floating nuclear power plant featuring the ACP100S reactor as well as "all the scientific research work". Construction of a demonstration unit is to start by the end of this year, with completion set for 2019.
CGN and CNOOC to cooperate
China National Offshore Oil Corporation announced yesterday it has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with CGN.
Under the agreement, the two state-owned companies plan to cooperate in the development of nuclear technology for use in offshore oil fields.
The partnership will "have a strong impetus on the organic integration of the offshore oil industry and the nuclear power industry", CNOOC said in a statement.
CNOOC chairman Yang Hua said the use of floating nuclear power plants will help reduce the development costs of offshore oil and gas fields.
According to CNNC, its floating plant could provide electrical power to offshore oil and gas drilling platforms, as well as help in the development of islands and remote areas. In addition to power generation, the plant could also be used for water desalination and for meeting "other diversified development needs", it said.
In addition to the 100 MWe ACP100S, CNNC has also developed smaller sizes of the reactor - the ACP10S and the ACP25S, which it says could be used singularly or in pairs to create a floating plant with optimum capacity for its intended use.
Last October, Lloyd's Register of the UK signed a framework agreement with NPIC to support the design and development of a floating nuclear power plant utilizing an SMR.
The ACP100 reactor design has been under development since 2010 and its preliminary design was completed in 2014. It is an integrated pressurized water reactor in which the major components of its primary coolant circuit are installed within the reactor pressure vessel. It is a multi-purpose reactor designed for electricity production, heating, steam production or seawater desalination.
CNNC New Energy Corporation, a joint venture of CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corp, is planning to build two ACP100 units in Putian county, Zhangzhou city, at the south of Fujian province, near Xiamen, as a demonstration plant.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News