Reactor vessel in place at Hongyanhe 6

04 December 2018

The reactor pressure vessel of unit 6 at the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province was installed on 1 December, Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company (LHNP) announced today.

The vessel after its installation at Hongyanhe 6 (Image: LHNP)

Installation of the vessel - measuring 10 metres in height, 4.6 metres in diameter and weighing 261 tonnes - "means that the nuclear island main equipment of unit 6 [has now] entered the installation period", the company said.

Construction of Phase I of the plant, comprising four CPR-1000 pressurised water reactors, began in August 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014, respectively, while unit 3 entered commercial operation in August 2015 and unit 4 in September 2016.

Units 5 and 6 are two 1080 MWe China General Nuclear (CGN) designed ACPR-1000 reactors that form Phase II of the Hongyanhe plant.

Construction of unit 5 began in March 2015 and that of unit 6 started in July the same year. Unit 5 is scheduled to begin operating in late 2019, with unit 6 following in 2021.

The Hongyanhe plant is owned and operated by LHNP, a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation, each holding a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10%.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News