Construction completed on Northeast China’s first nuclear plant

Construction on the first phase of Liaoning Hongyanhe nuclear power plant, Northeast China’s first nuclear plant and largest energy project, was completed on Sept 20, according to Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.

The first phase of the project, which began in 2007, contains four units each capable of generating 1.12 GW. The first of these units was put into operation in 2013, with the remaining units coming online at a rate of one per year. The fourth and final unit is now ready to be put into operation.

A “made in China” nuclear plant

As Northeast China’s first nuclear power facility, Hongyanhe will play an important role in shifting the region’s energy sector toward low-carbon generation. However, the plant’s influence on the local economy extends far beyond that.

The plant represents highly level of localization , with 75 percent of the parts and equipment used in constructing the first phase of the project being sourced from domestic companies.

Many of these parts used in the project had never been manufactured in China before, such as the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) supplied by China First Heavy Industries, the first Gigawatt-level RPV ever produced by a Chinese company.

This has helped the region’s nuclear power industry make huge strides, and has provided a big boost to the local economy. Hongyanhe’s developers purchased equipment worth more than 3.4 billion yuan ($500 million) from Liaoning-based companies during the construction of phase one.

“Safety First, Quality Foremost, Pursuing Excellence”

Safety has been the top priority for the phase one developers, China General Nuclear Power Corporation, State Power Investment Corporation and Dalian Construction Investment Group, who adopted “safety first, quality foremost, pursuing excellence” as the project’s core guiding principle.

No nuclear safety accidents negatively impacting local residents or the environment were recorded during phase one, with the project’s construction safety management being graded level seven (or advanced level) based on International Safety Rating System standards.

When the three generators completed in 2015 were assessed by safety inspectors, they received an “advanced level" for three quarters of the indicators assessed, making them international advanced level.

These indicators, formulated by the World Association of Nuclear Operators, are universally recognized as a safety evaluation method in the global nuclear power industry.

Phase two to be completed in 2021

Four units in total of phase one were fully completed while construction on phase two of Hangyanhe, commenced in 2015, is already underway and scheduled to be completed in 2021.