Workers on Friday hoisted a 170-ton dome into place over the
underground workshop that will house a third reactor at the second
phase of the Qinshan nuclear power complex, the first commercial
nuclear power facility in
China.
That step cleared the way for installation of a 650,000 kw
pressurized water reactor at the nuclear complex, which is located
in Haiyan, on the northern coast of Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang
Province, not far from Shanghai. The Qinshan complex has three
phases, each featuring different types of reactor, some of which
were from domestic suppliers and some from foreign
manufacturers.
Construction of another underground workshop for a fourth
generating unit is also under way, according to Yang Lanhe, General
Manager of Nuclear Power Qinshan Joint Venture Co. Ltd, investor of
the second phase of the Qinshan complex.
The first phase of the Qinshan facility was also the first
nuclear power plant on the mainland built independently by domestic
engineers. Construction on the facility began in 1985. The first
phase featured a 300,000 kilowatt prototype reactor with a lifespan
of 30 years, which went online in 1991.
The first phase of the plant, which suspended power generation
for a fuel change starting on Oct. 28, is to resume operation in
January. The complex will see the addition of two more pressurized
reactors, each of which is to have an installed capacity of 1
million kilowatts.
The first phase has so far generated 31 billion kwh of
electricity and produced 9.6 billion yuan (US$1.28 billion) in
revenue and paid 1.8 billion yuan in tax.
The plant also has second and third phases. The second phase
involves the plant where work was done on Friday. It has two
functioning 650,000-kw units that began generating power in 2002
and 2004, respectively. The expansion of phase two will involve the
installation of two 650,000-kw pressurized reactors. The expansion
program began in April 2006. It will be fully completed and start
power generation in late 2011.
Through Dec. 17, the second phase of the Qinshan nuclear plant
had generated 8.5 billion kwh of electricity for 2007. When all
four units are in operation, the second phase will be able to
produce 18-20 billion kwh of electricity a year.
The third phase houses two Canadian CANDU heavy-water
reactors.
(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2007)
