China approves construction of ten new nuclear reactors

China’s State Council has approved five nuclear power plant construction projects—Fangchenggang Phase III, Haiyang Phase III, Sanmen Phase III, Taishan Phase II and Xiapu Phase I—with a total of ten reactors. Eight of them will be Hualong One reactors. The construction decision was made on 27 April at a State Council meeting.

China General Nuclear (CGN) announced that it had received approval to build Phase II (units 3 and 4) of its Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province and Phase III (units 5 and 6) of the Fangchenggang plant in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. All four new units will use HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactor technology.

Taishan units 3 and 4 will each have an installed capacity of 1 200 MWe, while Fangchenggang units 5 and 6 will each have an installed capacity of 1 208 MWe. CGN said it is currently “carrying out various preparatory work for the construction of these units as planned” and that construction itself will begin after a construction permit is obtained from the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) reported approval for Phase III of the expansion of its Sanmen nuclear power plant in Zhejiang province. It plans to build units 5 and 6 at the site, each with a Hualong One reactor and an installed capacity of 1215 MWe.

Xiapu project and expansion of the Haiyang plant

Construction of two Hualong One reactors has been approved at the Xiapu site in Fujian province. The project is a joint initiative of CNNC and Huaneng Power International. Construction is already under way at the site on two CFR-600 sodium-cooled fast reactors.

The State Council has also approved the construction of two CAP1000 reactors—the Chinese version of Westinghouse’s US AP1000 reactors—as units 5 and 6 of the Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province. The project is being led by State Power Investment Corporation. Two AP1000 units are already operating at the site, and two CAP1000 units are under construction.

Major investment in nuclear power development

According to China Daily, the approved projects represent an investment of more than 200 billion Chinese yuan (approximately CZK 610 billion).

The State Council has approved the construction of ten or more new reactors every year since 2022.

China currently operates 58 nuclear reactors with a total installed capacity of 56,9 GW. Another 30 reactors with a capacity of 34,4 GW are under construction.