Alstom to supply turbines for first Chinese EPRs

01 August 2008

Alstom is to provide the engineering and procurement of the complete turbine islands for the first two EPR nuclear power units to be constructed in China.
 

Under a contract worth over €200 million ($310 million), China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC) has selected Alstom as the supplier of the turbine islands (essentially most of the nuclear power plant except the reactor) for Taishan units 1 and 2, to be constructed in Guangdong province, 140 km west of Hong Kong. The order is for the supply of 1750 MW Arabelle half-speed turbines for the each of the two 1650 MWe Areva EPRs. It follows an April letter of intent between CGNPC and Alstom naming Alstom the preferred partner of CGNPC for the conventional island role.

 

Alstom is part of a consortium comprising two subsidiaries of CGNPC: China Nuclear Power Engineering Company (CNPEC) and China Nuclear Power Design Company (CNPDC). On Alstom's side, the project will be led by Alstom Turbomachines group (TMG) business, including its local engineering office Alstom Wuhan Engineering and Technology Co (AWEC). Alstom will supply in-house designed components, as well as the basic engineering of the complete turbine island and pumping station, while AWEC will support the on-shore portion of the design and procurement.
 

In August 2007, it was announced that Alstom will supply the steam turbines to the four units at Hongyanhe Phase I, under a €135 million ($184 million) contract. The Hongyanhe units are to be CPR-1000s, a Chinese standard design evolved from the Areva-supplied pressurized water reactors at Lingao and Daya Bay. Construction on the first two has already begun. Alstom will supply 1000 MWe-class Arabelle steam turbines for all four units.
 
Alstom, an engineering group that spans Europe, has been an industrial partner with the main contractors on Hongyanhe - the Dong Fang group and China Nuclear Power Engineering Co - since cooperating on the construction of Daya Bay, in the late 1980s.
 

Alstom also has agreements to supply Arabelle turbines for Russia's new-build program of 17 reactor units by 2020. A 1700 MWe-class version is destined for the Flamanville 3 EPR in France, the pilot unit of the design likely to replace the current French fleet in coming decades. The turbines for the EPR currently under construction in Olkiluoto, Finland, are being supplied by Siemens.