Startup of Hongyanhe‑6 Nuclear Reactor in China

Hongyanhe-6 in Dalian, Liaoning province, China, was connected to the grid for the first time on 2 May 2022. The Hongyanhe plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co, a joint venture between China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and China Power Investment Corporation (CNPC), each holding a 45 percent stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10 Percent. The project comprises six 1,000-MW units in two phases.

Photo: Screenshot CGTN

Phase I was completed in 2016 and the four units of the Generation II CPR-1000 design, largely based on French Framatome 900-MW reactors of the 1980s, were connected to the grid between February 2013 and April 2016.

Phase II of the project comprises Units 5 and 6 that are equipped with CGN’s ACPR-1000+ Generation-III technology. China Power Construction Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise based in Shenzhen, undertook the construction task of the conventional island of Phase II, which mainly included the turbine buildings, the combined pump house, and some auxiliary buildings.

Construction of Hongyanhe-5 started in 2015 and it was connected to the grid on 25 June 2021. Construction of Hongyanhe-6 began on 24 July 2015 and was originally scheduled for operation in 2020. In January 2020, CGN announced that operation of Hongyanhe-6 was delayed by at least six months to 2022.

As Hongyanhe-6 is connected to the grid, CGN has 26 nuclear power reactors in operation, almost half of China’s 55 operating units. In total, 19 additional reactors remain under construction in the country.