Nuclear construction milestones at Haiyang 2

Thursday, 24 March 2011

The first steel ring of Haiyang 2's containment vessel was lifted into place a few days after a structural module for the centre of the reactor building.

 

The CA05 module is lifted in on 9 March and the containment vessel ring follows on 13 March

The moves were announced by Shandong Nuclear Power Equipment Manufacturing Company as the first milestones this year in the construction of the second Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactor (PWR) at the site.

 

Three other AP1000s are under construction in China - another one at Haiyang and two more at Sanmen - which should begin operation over a two-year period from mid-2013. Many more are planned for China as it masters the technology under agreements with US-based Westinghouse.

A separate technology track based on the CPR-1000, a development of the French standard 900 MWe PWR, counts some 18 current construction projects. Two Areva EPRs are also being built, as are three domestic Chinese CNP-600 units.

China has put a hold on approvals for new projects in response to the crisis at Fukushima that followed the tsunami and earthquake of 11 March, but this is not expected to affect the scores of projects already approved or underway.

 

The containment vessel ring recently lifted in weighed over 600 tonnes and was the first of six. Within this airtight structure will be placed all the reactor system's primary circuit components including the reactor vessel, main coolant pumps and steam generators.

 

Shandong also announced it has lifted in the CA05 module to the centre of the reactor building. It provides steel-walled structures and an access tunnel. It was made from eight sub-modules welded together on-site to form the final 54-tonne piece for installation.
 
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News