Two Generation III CAP1000 units are under construction at site in east of country
The outer steel dome of the nuclear island containment building has been hoisted into place at the Haiyang-3 nuclear power plant in Shandong province, eastern China.
The dome – measuring about 41 metres in diameter, 11 metres in height and weighing almost 1,000 tonnes – was lifted into place on the containment walls using a 3,200-tonne crawler crane.
The process, on 23 March, took a little over two hours, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) subsidiary Shandong Nuclear Power Group announced. SPIC is one of China’s main electricity generators and Shandong Nuclear Power offers nuclear power station operation and construction services.
The steel containment is an important part of the Generation III plant’s nuclear island reactor building and a key safety barrier to prevent the leakage of radioactive materials, the company said.
China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) said the project marked the completion of the main structure of the nuclear island building and means workers can now install the passive containment cooling water storage tank.
The tank will hold water to help cool the reactor in an emergency. The water can also be directed into the reactor’s used fuel pool. The tank is part of the plant’s passive safety systems which require no operator actions in potential emergency situations.
Haiyang-3 is one of two 1,161-MW CAP1000 pressurised water reactor units under construction at Haiyang. The CAP1000 is China’s Generation III indigenous version of US-based Westinghouse’s AP1000 design.
The Haiyang nuclear power station also has two AP1000 PWR units that have been in commercial operation since 2018 and 2019.
China has four CAP1000 plants under construction including Haiyang-3 and -4 and two more units at the Sanmen nuclear power station in Zhejiang province, eastern China.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, China has 57 nuclear power plants in commercial operation and 28 under construction. In 2023 the nuclear fleet provided a 4.9% share of electricity generation.
The outer steel dome of the nuclear island containment building being hoisted into place at Haiyang-3. Courtesy CNEA.
