Unit 5 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province has completed commissioning tests and met the conditions for entering commercial operation, China General Nuclear (CGN) said on 1 August. The 1080MWe domestically-designed ACPR1000 pressurised water reactor completed the commissioning tests, including a test run lasting 168 hours on 31 July.
The Hongyanhe plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company (LHNPC), a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation, each holding a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Company holding the remaining 10%. LHNPC general manager Liao Weiming stated that Hongyanhe Nuclear Power has always adhered to the principles of safety first, quality first, and pursuit of excellence in project construction, and had continued to improve the level of localisation.
Hongyanhe 5's engineering design has fully implemented the nuclear safety requirements introduced after the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant. It has implemented 36 technical improvements such as passive high-level cooling water sources, back-up water supplies and mobile emergency power supplies. The ACPR1000 design, it said, has the main technical characteristics of third-generation nuclear power plants with enhanced safety features. The unit is now eligible for commercial operation, although it is still awaiting the necessary permits and documentation.
In terms of equipment localisation, unit 5 uses the domestically-designed Hemu digital control system, which "expands the application of domestic equipment in key technical fields". The overall localisation rate of Hongyanhe units 5 and 6 reached 85%, CGN noted.
Construction of Phase I (units 1-4) of the Hongyanhe plant, comprising four CPR-1000 pressurised water reactors, began in August 2009. Units 1 and 2 began commercial operation in 2013 and 2014, followed by unit 3 in 2015 and unit 4 in 2016. Phase II of the Hongyanhe plant - units 5 and 6 - comprises two ACPR-1000 reactors. Construction of both units began in 2015. Cold functional testing of unit 5 began in October 2019, marking the start of its commissioning phase. The unit achieved first criticality and was connected to the electricity grid in June this year. Unit 6 is currently undergoing hot functional testing.