The Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located in Fangchenggang, within the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, approximately 50km from the border of Vietnam. It is the first nuclear power project in western China.
The Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is located in Fangchenggang, within the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, approximately 50km from the border of Vietnam. It is the first nuclear power project in western China.
The project involves the construction of six nuclear reactor units, with a combined capacity of 6GW, in phases. The construction Units 1 and 2, which comprise Phase I, started in July 2010 and December 2010 respectively, whereas the construction works for Unit 3 under Phase II, which will also incorporate the Unit 4, started in December 2015.
The Chinese NPP is being developed by Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power, a joint venture (JV) of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and Guangxi Investment Group, in collaboration with Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company (RATCH), a subsidiary of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
Fangchenggang NPP Phase I construction and technology details
Phase I of the project involves the construction of two units of 1.08GW each, based on Gen-II CPR-1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR) technology.
The fuel loading for Unit 1 was completed in September 2015, first criticality for the unit was achieved in October 2015 and grid connection was achieved later that month. The unit is scheduled to start commercial operations in 2016 following the application of related electric power business licenses and other documents.
The equipment installation works for Unit 2 are currently in progress. The two units are designed to operate for 40 years. Unit I has an output capacity of 24GWh a day, which is sufficient to serve a medium-sized city in China.
Fangchenggang NPP Phase II construction and technology details
The two units under Phase 2 will have an installed capacity of 1.18GW each. They will each be installed with one HPR1000 (Hualong-1), Gen-III nuclear power reactor.