First 2021 Reactor Construction‑Start in China

WNISR, 1 April 2021

Pouring of basemat concrete for the reactor building of Changjiang-3 located in Haiwei Township, Changjiang Li Autonomous County on the island province of Hainan, began 31 March 2021. The reactor design is the HPR-1000, also known as the Hualong One, and is scheduled to commence operations in 2026. Unit 4 construction-start is scheduled for early 2022.

The design is derived mainly from the 900 MWe reactors that China imported from France in the 1980s (Daya Bay) and 1990s (Ling Ao). Based on the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) ACPR-1000 design, the HPR-1000 /Hualong One is a Generation III reactor, a more advanced version of CGN’s Generation II CPR-1000 and the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) ACP-1000 designs.

The China Huaneng Group has a 51-percent controlling share in the nuclear plant project, which is being developed together with CNNC. The Changjiang phase II project-cost for two HPR-1000 reactors according to the China Huaneng Group is 40 billion yuan (US$6.08 billion).

Of the 18 reactors now under construction in China, nine are HPR-1000 /Hualong One design. The latest launch brings the total number of reactors currently under construction worldwide to 51.