Nuclear power approval opens for the first time in the year! The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved six new units, boosting investment of 100 billion yuan.

In 2023, nuclear power approval was first opened. According to the news broadcast, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council presided over the the State Council executive meeting on July 31, and decided to approve the nuclear power projects in Shidaowan, Fujian Ningde and Xudabao, Liaoning. The meeting emphasized that safety is the lifeline of nuclear power development. It is necessary to adhere to safety first and quality first, build new units according to the highest safety requirements in the world, improve existing units according to the latest safety standards, strengthen safety supervision in all areas of the whole chain, and upgrade the localization level of key core technologies to ensure foolproof.

Many parties in The Paper have learned that the approved projects are Units 1 and 2 of the first phase expansion project of Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong, Units 5 and 6 of Ningde Nuclear Power Project in Fujian and Units 1 and 2 of Xudabao Nuclear Power Project in Liaoning, with a total of 6 units. It is roughly estimated that the total investment of the above-mentioned approved new units is nearly 120 billion yuan.

According to the usual practice, the approved new unit can start construction after obtaining the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Permit issued by the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

There are 77 nuclear power units in operation and under construction in Chinese mainland, ranking second in the world, and the operating safety level ranks among the top in the world. Nuclear power with zero carbon emission, stable output and partial peak-shaving capability is one of the indispensable main means for China to achieve the goal of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, especially for coastal economic provinces. In 2022, a total of 10 new nuclear power units were approved, the highest since 2009. According to The Paper, the industry is generally optimistic about the expected commencement of new projects this year, and the pace of approval last year is expected to continue. A number of other nuclear power supply chain enterprises told The Paper that orders for nuclear power in hand have returned to a historical high.

The newly approved six units belong to three nuclear power groups, all of which adopt the third generation nuclear power technology with independent intellectual property rights in China.

Among them, the Shidaowan nuclear power base located in Rongcheng, Shandong Province is developed by Huaneng Group. In addition to a demonstration project of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, Shidaowan base also plans to build four million-kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power units, and two of them were approved this time. Compared with China National Nuclear Corporation, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation and China Power Investment Corporation, Huaneng is the latest power generation central enterprise to obtain a nuclear power operation license. Starting from the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, Huaneng entered the field of nuclear energy in 2004, and until September 2020, the second phase of Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Project, which was controlled and developed by Huaneng, was approved, marking that Huaneng officially became the fourth nuclear power group in China with the qualification to control the construction of large-scale pressurized water reactor projects.

For CGNPC, Huaneng Shidaowan nuclear power project is of special significance.

It is reported that Units 1 and 2 of the first phase expansion project of Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant approved this time adopt CGNPC Hualong No.1 technology. After the first batch of demonstration projects of Hualong No.1 in China started, CNNC and CGNPC started the further technical integration of Hualong No.1.. After the Guangxi Fangchenggang nuclear power project, Guangdong Taipingling nuclear power project, Zhejiang San ‘ao nuclear power project and Guangdong Lufeng nuclear power project independently developed by CGNPC formed its batch trend of Hualong No.1, Huaneng Shidaowan project marked a breakthrough in the marketization of CGNPC Hualong No.1.

Units 5 and 6 of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. Fujian Ningde Nuclear Power Project, which adopt the same technology and are approved on the same day, will have a localization ratio of more than 90%, and the rated electric power of a single unit will be 1210MW. The annual power generation of a single unit is nearly 10 billion kWh, which can meet the annual electricity demand of 1 million people.

Ningde Nuclear Power Base, located in Taimushan Town, fuding city, which is under the jurisdiction of Ningde City, Fujian Province, is the first nuclear power plant to be started and put into operation in Fujian Province. Construction started on February 18th, 2008. The total planned capacity of the project is six million kilowatt nuclear power units, which are planned at one time and built in stages. The first phase of the project has been fully completed in July 2016. Units 5 and 6 in the second phase of the project are expected to invest about 41.5 billion yuan, and more than 15,000 builders are expected to be on the project site at the peak.

Located in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, Xudabao Nuclear Power Station is the second nuclear power project in Northeast China after Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station, and it is also the northernmost nuclear power station in China. The owner is China Nuclear Liaoning Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. Xudabao Nuclear Power Station plans to build six million-kilowatt PWR nuclear power units. Before the approval of Units 1 and 2, the construction of Units 3 and 4 in Xudabao, a Sino-Russian cooperation, has been started first.

In June 2018, witnessed by the two heads of state, CNNC and the Russian Atomic Energy Group signed the Framework Contract for Unit 7/8 of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, the Framework Contract for Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant and the Framework Contract for Equipment Supply and Service Procurement of China Demonstration Fast Reactor in the Great Hall of the People. Among them, Tianwan No.7 and No.8 units and Xudabao No.3 and No.4 units all adopt VVER-1200/V491 reactor device designed by Russia, equipped with domestic steam turbine generator sets, and the capacity of a single unit is 1274MW. In May 2021, the new units of Tianwan and Xudabao nuclear power plants started. On July 25th, this year, Unit 3 of Xudabao Nuclear Power Station was hoisted in place, which marked that the unit was fully transferred from the peak of civil construction to the installation stage.

CAP1000 technology adopted by Xudabao Units 1 and 2 is an important achievement of the introduction, digestion and absorption of three generations of passive technologies in China, and it has completely independent intellectual property rights. In the approval of new projects in the last two years, CAP1000 technology is accelerating the formation of mass construction scale.

During the two sessions of the National People’s Congress this year, Hu Defang, deputy to the National People’s Congress and secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of China Shipbuilding Bohai Shipyard Group Co., Ltd., made a proposal to speed up the approval of Units 1 and 2 of Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant. Hu Defang said that in view of the long construction period and large investment of Xudabao nuclear power project, the project value can be maximized only if each unit is started and put into operation step by step and in sequence, which will play a due role in the energy structure adjustment of Liaoning Province and even the three northeastern provinces.

The Paper noted that Shandong, Fujian and Liaoning, where new nuclear power units have landed, are all major nuclear power provinces with several nuclear power bases and clear nuclear expansion plans.

Hu Bo, director of Shandong Energy Bureau, said recently that Shandong Province has formulated the first provincial-level nuclear energy development plan in China, and issued the Action Plan for Nuclear Energy Development and Construction Project in Shandong Province, which has accelerated the planning and construction of key projects. Up to now, the cumulative power generation of nuclear power in Shandong Province has reached 94 billion kWh, and the installed capacity of nuclear power in operation and under construction is 8.2 million kilowatts. "At present and in the future, Shandong will continue to seize the opportunity of national nuclear power development, and make great efforts to build a nuclear power base in Jiaodong Peninsula and a base in nuclear system. By 2025, the construction of a 10-kilowatt nuclear power base will be in full swing, and the 100-billion-level nuclear system will take shape. "

Fujian’s total installed capacity of nuclear power ranks second in the country, second only to Guangdong. In the next few years, Fujian’s nuclear power scale will continue to expand. The "Special Plan for Energy Development in Fujian Province in the 14th Five-Year Plan" issued in May 2022 proposes to promote the coordinated development of source, grid, load and storage in accordance with the basic ideas of "controlling fire, strengthening nuclear power, expanding wind, stabilizing light, reducing water, increasing storage, optimizing network and making up for each other". In terms of safe and steady development of nuclear power, the plan requires "promoting the preliminary work of Ningde Nuclear Power Units 5 and 6, Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Units 3 -6, Xiapu Nuclear Power and other projects, and doing a good job in the protection and demonstration of other nuclear power sites."

The "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Strong Clean Energy Province in Liaoning Province" issued in September 2022 proposed to steadily promote the construction of three nuclear power bases under the premise of ensuring absolute safety. Unit 6 of Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant will be put into commercial operation, and the construction of Units 3 and 4 of Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant will be accelerated, so that Units 1 and 2 of Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant and Zhuanghe Nuclear Power Phase I can be approved and started as soon as possible. Compared with the current national level of about 5%, Liaoning aims to achieve more than 30% of nuclear power generation by 2030, and the installed capacity of nuclear power will reach 14 million kilowatts, laying a solid foundation for the province’s clean energy generation to reach 70%.