The Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant located in the Hainan province of China is being expanded to add two 1.2GW reactor units, increasing the plant’s total capacity to 3.7GW.
The £4.54bn ($5.84bn) phase two expansion project is being jointly developed by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC, 49%) and China Huaneng Group (51%).
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Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant phase one comprised two 650MW units commissioned between 2015 and 2016.
The developing partners signed an agreement for civil works of the Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant phase two in June 2019 and the project was launched five months later.
The proposed unit 3 site passed the inspection and acceptance test by the South China Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision Station of the National Nuclear Safety Administration in September 2020.
Civil works for unit 3 were started in September 2020, following the construction permit granted by the China State Council.
The construction of each unit will last up to 60 months. Unit 3 is expected to be commissioned in 2025, followed by unit 4 in 2026.
Location and site details
The phase one of the Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant is spread over 2,300 acres at Tangxing village, approximately 9.5km from Haiwei town, Changjiang Li ethnic autonomous county, Hainan province. The plant site is located in close proximity to the Beibu Gulf.
The new units 3 and 4 will be located adjacent to the existing operating units 1 and 2 on the northeast side.
China Huaneng Group and CNNC are also developing a 125MWe Linglong One (ACP100) small modular reactor demonstration project to the northwest of the existing plant.
Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant phase two make-up
The second phase of the Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant will add two Hualong One nuclear reactors with a rated electrical output of 1.2GW each.
Hualong One (HPR1000) is a third-generation, three-loop pressurised water reactor (PWR) jointly developed by CNNC and the China General Nuclear Power Group.
The Hualong One comes with a 60-year design life and features passive and active safety systems with double shell containment. It has a core thermal power of 3,180MWt, a design pressure of 17.23MPa, and a design temperature of 343ºC. The reactor core comprises 177 fuel assemblies.
Phase two development will also include two emergency diesel generators, a fuel plant, an emergency air compressor room, auxiliary nuclear plant equipment, waste storage facilities, fire pumps, and a reactor building among others.
The supporting infrastructure facilities include a water inlet gallery, cable gallery, liquid effluent discharge plant, radioactive solid waste treatment auxiliary plant, steam turbine generator plant, and plasma incineration system.
Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant phase one
Phase one of the Hainan Changjiang nuclear power station was developed with an estimated investment of approximately £2bn ($3.31bn). It comprises two CNP650 second-generation pressurised water reactor units of 650MW capacity each.
The power plant is equipped with four reactor coolant pumps, six charging pumps, six main feedwater pump sets, six condensate pumps, and 22 auxiliary cooling water pumps. It also features steam turbines, HVAC equipment, and air handling units.
Construction of unit 1 was commenced in April 2010 and it was brought online in December 2015. The second unit construction was started in November 2010 while commissioning took place in August 2016.
Contractors involved
NanFeng supplied the HVAC and air handling units for phase one development of the Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant, while Harbin Turbine Company (HTC) provided the steam turbines.
Shanghai China Nuclear Power was appointed as the bidding agency for the procurement of non-nuclear grade centrifugal pumps and accessories for phase two.
HBIS Wugang was contracted to supply nuclear power steel for the reactor pressure vessels, diesel engine storage tanks, and rotor pressure plates of units 3 and 4.
China First Heavy Machinery was engaged to manufacture and supply the reactor pressure vessel equipment for units 3 and 4.
