The construction of China's Huaneng Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Base Phase I expansion project Unit 2 officially began on Wednesday, marking the project's entry into the full-scale construction phase.
The phase I expansion project of Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Base aims to install two additional units in the base, with the construction work of unit 1 started in July 2024. The second unit, featuring the domestically developed third-generation nuclear reactor Hualong-1, is expected to have a designated maximum capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts and generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.
"The expansion project is planned to include four million-kilowatt-level pressurized water units, totaling five million kilowatts in installed capacity. Once completed, the annual power generation will reach 35 billion kWh, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of 17 million three-person households. It will reduce standard coal consumption by 11.5 million tonnes and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 27.6 million tonnes each year," said Zhang Yanxu, chief commander of the Phase I Expansion Project of the Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Base.
In addition to electricity, the base can also generate heat with nuclear power. The Phase I expansion project is expected to add over 20 million square meters of heating coverage, benefiting 600,000 local residents.
Equipped with the world's first high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, also known as the fourth-generation reactor, the Shidao Bay base Nuclear Power Base, located in Rongcheng City of east China's Shandong Province, is the first large-scale nuclear power base in China that simultaneously deploys both third- and fourth-generation nuclear technologies. The base went into commercial operation in December 2023.
China starts construction of Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Base expansion project
