Hot tests have been completed at unit 2 of China’s Zhangzhou NPP in Fujian province. The unit is the second of four Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors under construction at the site. Six Hualong One units are planned for the site.
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued construction licences for Zhangzhou 1&2 in 2019 to CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, the owner of the Zhangzhou nuclear power project, which was created by CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%) in 2011. Construction of unit 1 began one week after the construction licence was issued, with construction of unit 2 starting in September 2020. In September 2022, China’s State Council approved the construction of two further Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou plant (units 3&4). First concrete for the nuclear island of unit 3 was poured in February 2024, and for unit 4 the following September.
“Currently, unit 1 has been put into commercial operation, and unit 2 is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in the fourth quarter of this year,” CNNC said. “Units 3&4 started construction in 2024, and the preliminary work of units 5&6 is being carried out in an orderly manner.”
During the hot tests at unit 2, the steam turbine generator was run at 1500 rpm for the first time. “After inspection and confirmation by on-site staff, all systems on the conventional island ran smoothly during this run-in process, and all key technical indicators of the steam turbine met the acceptance standards, marking the successful completion of the non-nuclear run-in test,” CNNC noted. Completion of the hot testing paves the way for fuel loading, grid-connected power generation and other work.
