China Begins Operation of Second CPR-1000 Reactor

Eight days ahead of schedule, China on Sunday put into commercial operation Ling Ao Unit 4, the second facility of the Ling Ao Phase II nuclear power plant. Unit 4, owned by the state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co. (CGNPC), brings the number of reactors at the Ling Ao/Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base to six—making it China’s largest nuclear complex to date.

The unit uses a CPR-1000, an “improved Chinese pressurized water reactor” technology based on an AREVA-derived three-loop design. Constructed by Sichuan-based Dongfang Electric Corp., the Generation II+ designated reactor features digital instrumentation and controls and a 60-year design life.

Dongfang partnered with Alstom to supply turbine generator units and related equipment for the project. “Among the total 4 units in the Ling Ao nuclear power plant, Unit 4 enjoys the highest localization rate, with the main conventional island components designed by Alstom and supplied in partnership with DECL,” Alstom said in a statement on Monday. “The key components include GIGATOP 4 pole turbogenerator, Moisture Separator Reheater, the Condenser and the Low Pressure heater, and most of all, Alstom’s ARABELLE half-speed steam turbine.”

The first unit of Ling Ao phase II (Unit 3) in Guangdong Province—also a CPR-1000—entered commercial operation in late September. Ling Ao phase I has two nuclear reactors, 938-MW pressure water reactors (PWRs), which started commercial operation in 2002 and 2003. Daya Bay has two 944-MW PWRs, which started commercial operation in 1993 and 1994.

Sources: POWERnews, CGNPC, Alstom