Status Operational Units operational 2 × 1000 Opened 17 May 2006 Reactor supplier Atomstroyexport | Commission date May 17, 2006 Units under const. 2 × 1000 MW Construction began 1999 Reactor type Pressurized water reactor | |
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Country People's Republic of China Owner(s) Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation Similar Qinshan Nuclear Power Pl, Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Pl, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Pl, VVER, Sanmen Nuclear Power St | ||
Tianwan Nuclear Power Station (Chinese: 田湾核电站/田灣核電站) is a large nuclear power station in Lianyungang prefecture level city, Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is considered to be the largest nuclear plant on mainland China. It is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea approximately 30 kilometers east of Lianyungang proper.
Contents
The nuclear power plant consists of two reactor units each rated at 1,000 MW capacity and constructed by Russia's Atomstroyexport. The first reactor began full operations in 2006 and the second in 2007. According to a news report of RT, the IAEA has referred to the station as the "safest nuclear power plant in the world".
History
Construction commenced on 20 October 1999 for the first unit, and on 20 October 2000 for the second reactor unit. The first reactor went critical on 20 December 2005. Construction of the second reactor finished in May 2007 and commercial operation began in August. This is the first time the two countries have co-operated on a nuclear power project.
On 23 November 2010, Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation signed a contract with Atomstroyexport according to which Atomstroyexport will supply 1060 MWe VVER-1000 reactors for units 3 and 4. Construction of unit 3 was delayed by the 2011 nuclear accident in Japan, but finally began in December 2012.
Details
Both units use VVER pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology supplied from Russia. Together they cost approximately US$3.3 billion. The units are the Russian standard reactor type VVER-1000/392 (also carries the designation of VVER-1000/428) adapted specifically for China.
These VVER 1000 reactors are housed in a confinement shell capable of being hit by an aircraft weighing 20 tonnes and suffering no expected damage. Reactors also received additional protection from earthquakes. Other important safety features include an emergency core cooling system and core confinement system. Russia delivered initial fuel loads for the Tianwan reactors. China planned to begin indigenous fuel fabrication for the Tianwan plant in 2010, using technology transferred from Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL.
"The station has four levels of security. There's a double asbestos cluster, which blocks any kind of emissions. Also there's a revolutionary security improvement called the trap, which prevents any leakage of nuclear fuel in the event of a breakdown", Alexandr Selikhov, Head of Atomstroyexport's delegation to China
The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant uses third party parts. While the reactor and turbo-generators are of Russian design, the control room was designed and built by an international consortium (including Siemens). In this way the plant was brought to meet the toughest recognised safety standards; safety systems were already mostly in place but the previous monitoring of these systems did not meet international safety standards. The new VVER 1000 plant built in China has 94% of its systems automated, meaning the plant can control itself under most situations. Refueling procedures require little human intervention. Five operators are still needed in the control room.
Built reactors are Third Generation, except Unit 5 and 6.
Reactors
The Tianwan nuclear power plant has two operating units, two more under construction, and four planned future reactors: