On March 31, China’s first nuclear power project in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the second phase of Huaneng Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant, poured the first tank of concrete. It is understood that the second phase of the Changjiang project was approved at the State Council executive meeting in early September 2020. Its approval means that the controlling shareholder, the large-scale power generation central enterprise Huaneng Group, has officially become China’s fourth nuclear power plant with the qualification to hold a large-scale pressurized water reactor project. group.

Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Phase II Project

The second phase of the Changjiang Nuclear Power Project is located in Haiwei Town, Changjiang County, Hainan. It plans to build two 1.2 million kilowatt nuclear power units and adopts the "Hualong No. 1" technical solution with China's independent intellectual property rights. This is the largest investment project since the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Zone (Hong Kong) in 2018. It is controlled by Huaneng Group and jointly constructed with China National Nuclear Corporation. As the project owner, Huaneng Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. is responsible for investment, construction and operation. The project is expected to have a total investment of 36.85 billion yuan and a construction period of 60 months. It is planned to be put into operation by the end of 2026. After the project is completed, it can deliver 18 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to Hainan Province every year.

Huaneng has been involved in the nuclear power field since 2004. It has accumulated project experience and polished its talent team by taking the lead in major national special high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and participating in the first phase of the Changjiang plant site (units 1 and 2). After 17 years of continuous investment, Huaneng has taken the lead in the nuclear power industry, especially in the construction of pressurized water reactor nuclear power projects, and has achieved substantial breakthroughs ahead of other large-scale power generation central enterprises. Huaneng is the power generation group with the largest installed capacity in Hainan Province, with a total investment of more than 30 billion yuan in Hainan and nearly 200 billion kilowatt-hours of power generation. Changjiang is one of its most important nuclear power bases for long-term cultivation.

But earlier than this, Huaneng's first step into nuclear power was to build the world's first high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear power plant with fourth-generation safety features on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Different from the current global mainstream reactor type pressurized water reactor, the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is one of the candidate reactor types in the fourth-generation nuclear energy system recognized in the international nuclear energy field. The pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor adopts all-ceramic-coated pelletized spherical fuel elements, helium gas as the coolant, and graphite as the moderator. It has good inherent safety and can ensure that the reactor core does not melt and undergo any accident. Large amounts of radioactivity were released. At present, the Shidaowan High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Nuclear Power Plant has completed the first batch of nuclear fuel reception, and according to the plan, Huaneng’s “first nuclear power” will be issued within this year.

Shu Yinbiao, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Chairman of Huaneng Group, said that accelerating the development of nuclear power and creating important emerging strategic industries are important directions and strategic choices for promoting Huaneng's transformation and upgrading. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Huaneng will fully develop and construct three nuclear power bases in Shidaowan, Changjiang and Xiapu, and the nuclear power industry has entered a stage of large-scale development. Editor/He Yuting