Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant

Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant
Unit one and two with the construction site of unit three and four
Location of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in China
Country	People's Republic of China
Coordinates	34°41′13″N 119°27′35″E / 34.68694°N 119.45972°ECoordinates: 34°41′13″N 119°27′35″E / 34.68694°N 119.45972°E
Status	Operational
Construction began	1999
Commission date	May 17, 2006
Owner(s)	Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	PWR
Reactor supplier	Atomstroyexport
Power generation
Units operational	2 × 1000
Units under const.	2 × 1000 MW
Units planned	2 × 1000 MW 2 × 1200 MW

Tianwan Nuclear Power Station (Chinese: 田湾核电站/田灣核電站) is a large nuclear power station in Lianyungang prefecture level city, Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is considered to be the largest nuclear plant on mainland China. It is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea approximately 30 kilometers east of Lianyungang proper.

The nuclear power plant consists of two reactor units each rated at 1,000 MW capacity and constructed by Russia's Atomstroyexport. The first reactor began full operations in 2006 and the second in 2007.^[1] According to a news report of RT, the IAEA has referred to the station as the "safest nuclear power plant in the world".^[2]

History

Construction commenced on 20 October 1999 for the first unit, and on 20 October 2000 for the second reactor unit. The first reactor went critical on 20 December 2005. Construction of the second reactor finished in May 2007 and commercial operation began in August.^[1] This is the first time the two countries have co-operated on a nuclear power project.

On 23 November 2010, Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation signed a contract with Atomstroyexport according to which Atomstroyexport will supply 1060 MWe VVER-1000 reactors for units 3 and 4.^[3][4] Construction of unit 3 was delayed by the 2011 nuclear accident in Japan, but finally began in December 2012.^[5]

Details

Both units use VVER pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology supplied from Russia. Together they cost approximately US$3.3 billion. The units are the Russian standard reactor type VVER-1000/392 (also carries the designation of VVER-1000/428) adapted specifically for China.

These VVER 1000 reactors are housed in a confinement shell capable of being hit by an aircraft weighing 20 tonnes and suffering no expected damage. Reactors also received additional protection from earthquakes. Other important safety features include an emergency core cooling system and core confinement system. Russia delivered initial fuel loads for the Tianwan reactors. China planned to begin indigenous fuel fabrication for the Tianwan plant in 2010, using technology transferred from Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL.^[6]

"The station has four levels of security. There's a double asbestos cluster, which blocks any kind of emissions. Also there's a revolutionary security improvement called the trap, which prevents any leakage of nuclear fuel in the event of a breakdown", Alexandr Selikhov, Head of Atomstroyexport's delegation to China

The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant uses third party parts. While the reactor and turbo-generators are of Russian design, the control room was designed and built by an international consortium (including Siemens). In this way the plant was brought to meet the toughest recognised safety standards; safety systems were already mostly in place but the previous monitoring of these systems did not meet international safety standards. The new VVER 1000 plant built in China has 94% of its systems automated, meaning the plant can control itself under most situations. Refueling procedures require little human intervention. Five operators are still needed in the control room.

Built reactors are Third Generation, except Unit 5 and 6.

Reactors

The Tianwan nuclear power plant has two operating units, two more under construction, and four planned future reactors:

Unit[7]	Reactor type	Net capacity	Gross capacity	Construction started	Electricity grid	Commercial operation	Shutdown
Tianwan-1 [8]	VVER-1000/428 (AES-91)	990 MW	1,060 MW	20 October 1999	12 May 2006	17 May 2007	—
Tianwan-2 [9]	VVER-1000/428 (AES-91)	990 MW	1,060 MW	20 October 2000	14 May 2007	16 August 2007	—
Tianwan-3 [10]	VVER-1000/428M (AES-91)	1,050 MW	1,126 MW	27 December 2012	2018	—	—
Tianwan-4 [11]	VVER-1000/428M (AES-91)	1,050 MW	1,126 MW	27 September 2013	2018	—	—
Tianwan-5	CNP-1000	1,000 MW	1,080 MW	—	—	—	—
Tianwan-6	CNP-1000	1,000 MW	1,080 MW	—	—	—	—
Tianwan-7 [12]	VVER-1200	1,150 MW	1,200 MW	—	—	—	—
Tianwan-8 [12]	VVER-1200	1,150 MW	1,200 MW	—	—	—	—

See also

• Nuclear power in China

References

1. "The second power unit of TAES commissioned for commercial operation". AtomInfo.ru. August 18, 2007. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
2. Russian-Chinese nuclear station safest in the world: IAEA, RussiaToday, 2007-12-07
3. "ASE contracted to build Tianwan phase 2". World Nuclear News. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
4. "EPC contract signed for Tianwan Phase II". World Nuclear News. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
5. "First concrete at Tianwan 3". World Nuclear News. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
6. "Tianwan fuel fabrication moves to China". World Nuclear News. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
7. "China, People's Republic of". Power Reactor Information System (PRIS). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Retrieved 2010-05-12. External link in |work= (help)
8. "Tianwan 1". PRIS. IAEA. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
9. "Tianwan 2". PRIS. IAEA. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
10. "Tianwan 3". PRIS. IAEA. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
11. "Construction begins on Tianwan 4". World Nuclear News. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
12. "Nuclear Power in China". Information Papers. World Nuclear Association (WNA). 24 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.