30 October 2018

Seventh Reactor Startup in China in 2018 [Corrected]

Seventh Reactor Startup in China in 2018

WNISR, 30 October 2018, Corrected.

The Tianwan unit 4 reactor was connected to the Chinese power grid on 27 October 2018. This is the seventh reactor to start up in China in 2018, a remarkable performance. Only two other units started up in the world throughout the year so far, both in Russia.

Tianwan-4 is a Russian-origin VVER-1000 reactor, designed by Gidropress and supplied by Rosatom, and it is located in Jiangsu province on the Yellow Sea, eastern China. Construction of the reactor began in September 2013, with planned operation in 2018, and brings to four the number of Rosatom supplied reactors operating at the site. The construction time is exceptionally short by international standards, considering that the average is around ten years.

The Tianwan plant is operated by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). International safety reviews of the VVER design have led to stated improvements but some independent experts have questioned to what extent passive safety systems were finally incorporated by CNNC at Tianwan. Construction of Tianwan units 5&6, which are ACPR-1000 design, began in December 2015 and September 2016 respectively, and are still underway.