China begins construction of new Hualong One reactor at Shidaowan plant

Technicians have officially begun construction of the second unit at the Shidaowan power plant in China's Shandong province. It is the second of a pair of Hualong One units to be built at the plant as part of its first phase. Once completed, the plant is expected to have seven units, three of which are demonstration units of the HTR-PM and CAP1400 types.

China's energy company China Huaneng announced that construction of the second unit at the Shidaowan nuclear power plant had reached its first official milestone. The company began construction of the Hualong One unit (also known as HPR1000) with the first concrete pour in early May.

“With the start of construction on the second Hualong One unit at the Shidaowan plant, the Phase I expansion project at the ShidaoBay nuclear power plant has entered the full construction phase. It is China's first comprehensive nuclear energy base integrating third- and fourth-generation nuclear technologies,” China Huaneng said.

China's State Council approved construction of the pair of Hualong One units at the Shidaowan plant in July 2023. Technicians began official construction of the first unit with a concrete pour in July 2024. The company expects construction of each unit to take around 5 years. China Huaneng expects a total of four Hualong One units, with installed capacity of nearly 5 GW, to be built at the site.

The plant is owned by China Huaneng (47.5%), China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (32.5%) and the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology at Tsinghua University (20%).

Demonstration nuclear units at the site

China brought the HTR-PM demonstration nuclear unit (with high-temperature gas-cooled reactors) at the Shidaowan (Shidao Bay) nuclear power plant online in 2021. The 210 MW unit entered commercial operation in 2023. China Huaneng says its HTR-PM units already have the characteristics of Generation IV nuclear reactors.

Two CAP1400 demonstration units (Guohe One) are also nearing completion at the plant. China Huaneng connected the first to the grid late last year, and the second is expected to follow this year. CAP1400 is a scaled-up version of China's CAP1000 reactor, which is based on Westinghouse's US-designed AP1000.

Once all six units planned at the site are complete, the plant's installed capacity will exceed 8 GW.