China continues to outpace the rest of the world in nuclear power, starts building another reactor

China has officially begun construction of the 1,250 MW CAP 1000 Xudabao 2 nuclear unit. Once completed, the power plant in Liaoning province is expected to have four units in total, although they will not all use the same technology. The country began building two Russian VVER-1200 units at Xudabao in 2021. The units are expected to enter commercial operation between 2027 and 2029.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced that it had started construction of another nuclear unit. On 17 July, construction workers began pouring concrete for the second unit at the Xudabao, also known as Xudapu, power plant in Liaoning province.

"The Xudapu nuclear power plant project is one of the largest clean energy investments in Liaoning province during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. It is a key pillar supporting Huludao in building a clean industry cluster," CNNC said in a press release.

According to CNNC, construction of the first two units at the Xudabao power plant is expected to cost 48 billion Chinese yuan (approximately CZK 153 billion). The company also plans for the units to enter commercial operation in 2028 and 2029, even though construction of the first unit has not yet officially begun.

China currently has 12 reactors under construction, with a total installed capacity of nearly 14 GW.

One power plant, two nuclear technologies

Construction of the Xudabao nuclear power plant is notable because work on its first unit has yet to begin. At the same time, its four planned units will use different reactor designs. The first pair of units will be Chinese CAP1000 reactors based on Westinghouse’s US AP1000 design.

The second pair of units, 3 and 4, whose construction China began first, are VVER-1200 reactors supplied by Russia under a 2018 intergovernmental agreement. CNNC plans to bring the third and fourth units into commercial operation in 2027 and 2028.

CNNC says it plans to build a total of six nuclear units at Xudabao. No timeline is yet known for the final pair, which will probably be CAP1000 units.

"The Xudabao nuclear power plant will have six gigawatt-scale pressurised water reactor units. We expect each pair of units to generate nearly 18 TWh of electricity a year once completed," CNNC added.