First concrete has been poured for unit 2 of China’s Shidaowan NPP in Shandong Province, according to China Huaneng, which is planning to construct four Hualong One reactors at the site. China’s State Council approved the construction of Phase One (units 1&2) in July 2023 and first concrete for unit 1 was poured in July 2024. Each unit will generate more than 10 TWh of electricity a year, reducing, standard coal consumption by 3.12m tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by 8.16m tonnes, according to China Huaneng.
The Shidaowan site also hosts the world’s first fourth-generation reactor plant, the HTR-PM, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) concept. The HTR-PM demonstration project involves two small 250 MWe HTGRs that drive a single 210 MWe turbine. The site will ultimately host ten 210 MWe units of this type. Construction began in December 2012 and unit 1 achieved criticality in September 2021 followed by unit 2 two months later. Unit 1 was connected to the grid in December 2021 and both units achieved full power in December 2022. The project began commercial operation in December 2023.
The project is owned by a consortium led by China Huaneng (47.5%) with China National Nuclear Corporation’s subsidiary China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (32.5%) and the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technologies (INET) of Tsinghua University (20%), which is the head of research and developments.
In addition, the Guohe One nuclear power demonstration project is also located at the Shidaowan site comprising two 1500 MWe CAP1400 pressurised water reactors, a design based on the Westinghouse AP1000. Unit 1 of the Guohe One project was connected to the grid in November 2024.
Research and development for Guohe One began in 2008. Some 700 institutions and more than 30,000 technicians participated in the R&D, according to People’s Daily. In December 2009, the State Nuclear Plant Demonstration Company, a joint venture comprising the State Power Investment Corp (SPIC – 55%) and China Huaneng Group (45%) was set up to build and operate the two-unit demonstration project. SPIC officially launched the CAP1400 reactor design in September 2020. Construction of unit 1 started in June 2019 and unit 2 in April 2020. The CAP1400 design passed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Generic Reactor Safety Review in 2016.
China Huaneng noted that with the start of construction of the Shidaowan unit 2 Hualong One “the Phase I expansion project of Huaneng Shidao Bay Nuclear Power entered the full construction stage, and the construction of China’s first comprehensive nuclear power base integrating third-generation and fourth-generation nuclear power technologies was further accelerated”.
