Plant Operation

China’s Sanmen-2 AP1000 Begins Commercial Operation

By David Dalton
7 November 2018

7 Nov (NucNet): The Sanmen-2 Generation III+ Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor unit in Shandong province, northeast China, has begun commercial operation, the China Nuclear Energy Association said.

According to the association, the unit successfully completed 168 hours of assessment at full-power and was put into commercial operation at 21:47 on 5 November.

Sanmen-2 is the third AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation following Sanmen-1, which began commercial operation on 21 September, and Haiyang-1, which began commercial operation on 22 October.

Four AP1000 nuclear units have been under construction in China. The fourth, Haiyang-2, was connected to the grid on 13 October and is expected to begin operating in early 2019.

Four AP1000 reactors were also being built in the US – two each at the Vogtle and Summer stations. Construction of the two Summer units was suspended in August 2017. The two Vogtle units are scheduled to start operating in November 2021 and November 2022.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, China now has 44 nuclear power units in commercial operation providing about 3.9% of its electricity.

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