Reactor vessel installed at Ningde 3
29 May 2013
The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has been lowered into place at unit 3 of the Ningde nuclear power plant, under construction in China's Fujian province. The unit is set to start operating next year.
.jpg "Ningde 3 RPV installation (CNEC)") |
| The RPV is lowered into place within Ningde 3's containment building (Image: CNECC) |
Plant builder China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation (CNECC) announced that the 262-tonne reactor pressure vessel was successfully installed on 23 May. It follows the installation of the pressurizer, steam generators and the main pump equipment.
Ningde 3 is one of four CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) being built on the site. Construction of units 1 and 2 started in 2008 and units 3 and 4 started in 2010. The CPR-1000 is a standardized Chinese design developed from the two Areva PWRs imported for the Daya Bay plant in Guangdong province, starting up in 1994. Those units were built to the French three-loop standard, outputting 944 MWe. The CPR-1000 builds on that to produce 1080 MWe.
Ningde unit 1 started commercial operation in April this year. All four units should be in operation before the end of 2015. Two further CPR-1000 units are planned at Ningde.
The plant is 46% owned by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company and 44% by China Datang Corporation. The remaining 10% is held by Fujian Provincial Energy Group.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News