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UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
New nuclear power in China and, maybe, Finland
China now has a total of 19 nuclear reactors in operation following the completion and grid connection of Unit 1 at the Yangjiang nuclear power plant and Unit 2 at the Ningde nuclear plant. The country’s fleet of nuclear power stations now make up 16 GW of capacity.
Elsewhere in China, World Nuclear News reports that Unit 6 at Yangjiang has started full construction, with first structural concrete being poured for the reactor. When completed the six reactor units will provide 6.5 GW of capacity to the Chinese grid. Reactors 5 and 6 are the first two ACPR1000 reactors to be built by China General Nuclear Power, developed from French origins.
Two Westinghouse AP1000 units are also continuing construction progress in Sanmen and Haiyang, with the 800 tonne shield building conical roofs being successfully set at each site. The two units are the first of two planned for each specific site.
Meanwhile, in Finland, a consortium of 60 Finnish industrial and energy companies has signed a plant supply agreement with the Russian Rusatom Overseas for a 1.2 GW AES-2006 nuclear power plant at Hanhkivi, on the west coast of the country. Agreements have also been signed for project shares and for the fuel supply. A final investment decision is expected by the end of this month on the project. Should the plant go ahead it would be planned for 2024, and the price of electricity has been estimated at 5 Eurocents per kWh. Four AES-2006 units are currently under construction in Russia.
The electricity produced from this plant, should it got to plan, would be significantly cheaper than the French EPR Unit Olkiluoto 3 in the south-west of Finland, which has experienced well publicised cost and schedule overruns. TVO, the Finnish nuclear developer behind the Olkiluoto units, reported a record production year for its existing units 1 and 2 at Olkiluoto in 2013, following plant upgrades from 2010–2012. The units generated 14.6 TWh, with a combined load factor of 95%.
News Item details
Journal title: Energy World
Countries: Finland - Russia - China -
Subjects: Electricity from nuclear fuel, Nuclear fuel extraction and fuel processing, Power stations, Nuclear reactors
