Groundwork begins at new Chinese plant site

SPIC said the pre-construction meeting and mobilisation meeting for the site levelling for the main plant area of ​​units 1 and 2 of the Laiyang plant was held on 1 September at the project site. It said this "marked a key step in the construction of the Laiyang nuclear power project and the full-scale commencement of site levelling construction for the first phase of the project".

The construction of two Guohe One reactors as the initial phase of SPIC's Laiyang plant was among eight units approved during a State Council executive meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on 31 July this year. The Laiyang plant will eventually house six such units. SPIC is fully responsible for the investment, construction and operation of the Shandong Laiyang Nuclear Power Project.

"As the first project to be implemented in the standardised and mass production of the Guohe One nuclear power plant, Laiyang nuclear power plant carries the important mission of promoting the high-quality development of the nuclear energy industry within the group company," SPIC said. "Currently, the project construction has entered a new phase. Relying on the 100% domestic production capability of the Guohe One unit and using mass production as a key approach, the project fully unleashes the technological efficiency of Guohe One, providing a safe and reliable nuclear energy supply. 

"It aims to create a nuclear energy industry practice model for the implementation of the group's 'balanced growth strategy', fully demonstrating the unique value of the mass production practice of Guohe One in serving regional energy supply security and contributing to the implementation of the national 'dual-carbon' goals. This will accumulate replicable construction and management experience for the large-scale promotion of third-generation nuclear power in China."

_{An illustration of the CAP1400 demonstration project (Image: CNEA)}

Once all six units are completed, the installed capacity of the Laiyang plant will reach about 9.26 GW, making it the largest nuclear power base in China in terms of installed capacity, with an annual output of 74 TWh of clean electricity and a heating capacity exceeding 170 million square metres, SPIC noted.

SPIC officially launched the CAP1400 reactor design in September 2020 following 12 years of research and development work. The 1,400 MWe design is intended to be deployed in large numbers across the country, as well as for export. The CAP1400 is an enlarged version of the AP1000 pressurised water reactor developed from the Westinghouse original, with consulting input from the USA-based company.

The first of two demonstration Guohe One reactors at the Shidaowan site in Shandong Province was connected to the grid in November 2024, with the second following in September 2025.