China Starts Construction of More Reactors as Part of Rapid Nuclear Buildout

Updated data from the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) shows the country has 55 nuclear reactors in operation, ranking third globally behind the U.S. and France. The CNEA said China at present has a world-leading 26 nuclear power units under construction, including Unit 5 of the Ningde Nuclear Power Plant in Fujian Province, where the first concrete was poured on July 28. China General Nuclear (CGN) is building two new units at Ningde, a plant that currently is home to four, 1,018-MW CPR-1000 reactors that entered commercial operation between April 2013 and July 2016. Units 5 and 6 at Ningde, which were approved by the Chinese government on July 31, 2023, will be Hualong One reactors, each with more than 1 GW of generation capacity. First concrete also was poured Sunday for Unit 1 of the Shidaowan nuclear plant in Shandong Province, which will feature another Hualong One reactor. The Shidaowan facility is being built by China Huaneng. [caption id="attachment_221559" align="alignnone" width="640"]

First concrete for Unit 5 at the Ningde nuclear power plant was poured on July 28, 2024. A sixth unit also is planned at the site, which is currently home to four CPR-1000 reactors. Source: CGN[/caption] Tian Huiyu, general manager of Fujian Ningde Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., in a statement said, "The construction of units 5 and 6 of the Ningde Nuclear Power Project Phase II will further increase the proportion of clean energy in Fujian Province and inject stronger clean energy support into the high-quality economic and social development of Fujian Province." A statement from CGN said, "The progress of the Ningde Nuclear Power Plant's second phase will have a positive impact on China's energy structure and environmental protection agenda. We use China's third-generation nuclear technology, known for its high safety, cost-effectiveness and longevity, which will boost our competitiveness in the international market."

Chasing the U.S. and France

Data from the Nuclear Energy Institute shows 94 operating reactors in the U.S., at 53 different power plants located in 28 states. France has 56 operating reactors at 18 different power plants. Two new units at Plant Vogtle in Georgia were the first new reactors built in the U.S. in decades. No utility-scale reactors are currently under construction, although there are plans to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan that was closed in 2022. NextEra Energy also is looking at a possible restart of the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa that was closed in 2020. French officials earlier this year said that country could build as many as 14 new reactors over the next several years to help the country meet climate targets. Officials have said commercial operation of the long-delayed Unit 3 at Flamanville could be imminent; fuel loading was completed in late May. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear reactor fleet. The country in both 2022 and 2023 approved construction of 10 new reactors, and officials have touted the Chinese strategy of standardized development of nuclear power plants, enabling faster completion of projects. The Shidaowan site is known for being home to the High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor-Pebble-bed Module, or HTR-PM, demonstration project that has been online since December 2023. That project has two small reactors powering one 210-MW turbine. The project is owned by a consortium of China Huaneng, China Nuclear Engineering Corp. (a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp.), and Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology. China Huaneng in a statement said that construction of Shidaowan Unit 1 "marks that Huaneng Shidaowan has become a nuclear power base that uses both the latest independent third-generation nuclear power technology and fourth-generation advanced nuclear power technology." The company has said its plan for Shidaowan includes four, 1.2-GW Hualong One reactors, with the first two expected online in 2029. —Darrell Proctor is senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).