Landmark module installation at Lufeng 2

With a hoisting weight of more than 950 tonnes and measuring more than 26 metres long, 29 metres wide and 23 metres high, the concrete and steel CA01 module - composed of 47 sub-modules - sits inside the unit's containment module where it will house the plant's reactor pressure vessel, steam generators and other components.

The installation of the CA01 module on 21 July "signifies that the construction of the reactor building for Unit 2 of the Lufeng Nuclear Power Plant has entered a new phase, laying a solid foundation for subsequent nuclear island structure construction and equipment installation", CGN said.

_{(Image: CGN)}

The CAP1000 reactor design - the Chinese version of Westinghouse's AP1000 - uses modular construction techniques, enabling large structural modules to be built at factories and then installed at the site. The CA01 module is referred to as a super module because it is too large to be transported by road and rail, and was constructed on site.

The CA01 module of unit 1 at the Lufeng site was installed in September last year.

"Building on the successful experience of unit 1, the assembly phase of unit 2's CA01 module further expanded the scope of modular construction, enabling the pre-assembly and integration of more items on the ground, and improving the overall integrity of the assembly compared to unit 1," CGN said.

Background

The Lufeng nuclear power plant is the first nuclear power project in eastern Guangdong Province. The proposed construction of four 1250 MWe CAP1000 reactors (units 1-4) at the Lufeng site was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission in September 2014.

The Lufeng units have not been built in the numerical order their names would appear to suggest.

In April 2022, the State Council approved construction of two Hualong One units at Lufeng as units 5 and 6. First concrete was poured for unit 5 on 8 September 2022 and that for unit 6 on 26 August 2023. The reactor vessel of unit 6 was installed in February this year. Units 5 and 6 are expected to begin operating in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

The construction of units 1 and 2 did not receive State Council approval until August 2024. The first safety-related concrete for the nuclear island of unit 1 was poured in February last year, with that of unit 2 following in December. Both units are scheduled to begin operating in 2030. Approval for units 3 and 4 is still pending.

According to CGN, once all six units are in operation, the Lufeng plant will generate about 52 TWh, which will reduce standard coal consumption by almost 16 million tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 42 million tonnes.