[Several of my colleagues are working on the Sanmen project. It will be interesting to see if schedule holds on this first AP-1000.]
http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp?id=1232168&cat=Business&head=China+builds+third+generation+nuclear+reactors
Zhejiang (China) |Monday, 2009 7:35:09 PM IST
China Sunday started the construction of its Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in collaboration with US-based Westinghouse in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.
The plant will be built in three phases, with an investment of about 40 billion yuan ($5.88 billion) in the first phase.
The two pressurised water reactors to be built in the first phase will generate 1.25 mn kw each.
The first reactor will be put into operation in 2013, and the second in 2014. The plant will have six reactors.
"It is the biggest energy cooperation project between China and the US," said Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration.
China launched bidding for the Sanmen nuclear power plant in 2003. Foreign companies including Westinghouse, France's Areva and Russia's AtomStroyExport participated in the process.
Westinghouse became the winner after China signed a memo with the US on the introduction and transfer of third-generation nuclear power technologies in December 2006.
The agreement was signed between China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation and Westinghouse in July 2007.
Two of the four pressurised water reactors will be installed in Sanmen, while two others will be installed in Haiyang City in eastern Shandong province.
China presently has 11 nuclear reactors at its six nuclear power plants, all on the east coast, with a combined installed capacity of 9.07 mn kw.
To meet its fast economic growth, China plans to develop more nuclear power. The country plans to have 40 mn kw of installed nuclear capacity by 2020.
Speaking at Sunday's inauguration ceremony of the first-phase project of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang has called for more efforts to develop new energy to ensure the country's energy security and boost economic growth.
--Xinhua
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4 comments:
Are the Chinese reactors the Westinghouse AP-1000? It's quite new to me the size of 1250 MW each, is it perhaps a new or improved version of the Westinghouse reactor?
Sanmen and Haiyang are AP-1000s. China is also building EPRs in Taishan and they have their own model (CPR-1000) as well.
You can look up AP-1000 on the USNRC website and the Westinghouse website. It is the latest PWR design from Westinghouse and it uses passive features (e.g., gravity feed safety injection) to improve safety. In addition, AP-1000 has reduced the amount of pumps, valves, and cables to lower the construction cost. It should be interesting to see how both EPR and AP-1000 do in China as they will be built in the same country under the same set of rules.
yes, I know it, but as far I understand AP-1000 is rated about 1100 MWe, not 1250 MWe, it's quite new to me...
1100 MWe net is correct. The article probably mistook the reactor for one of the other designs.
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