On Monday morning
25th March the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department issued a media release
announcing the updated publication of its rfeport the power-generation
technology formerly called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) , then renamed Advanced
Nuclear Technologies or Micro Nuclear Technologies; but by Monday evening
Richard Harrington, the energy minister responsible for nuclear policy - and the
Government’s biggest cheerleading supporter of ANTs - dramatically resigned his position and left
Government (https://twitter.com/Richard4Watford/status/1110302682835759106)
Unsurprisingly this resignation was integrally related
to Brexit, as the government strategy to
deliver Brexit went nuclear, and
suffered a massive political meltdown.(https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2019/mar/26/brexit-government-may-ignore-result-of-indicative-votes-process-says-hancock-live-news)
Harrington said
in a coruscatingly critical resignation letter, Harrington asserted: “At this
critical moment in our country’s history, I regret that the Government’s
approach to Brexit I splaying roulette with the lives and livelihoods of the
vast majority of people in this country
who are employed by or otherwise dependent on
businesses for their livelihood.” So, he was very keen to promote British business.
In a
very strongly pro-nuclear speech to the annual conference of the Nuclear
Industry Association, in December 2017, Harrington said the following about SMRs/ANTs/MNRs
:
“…we are providing
up to £7 million of funding to regulators to build the capability and capacity
needed to assess and licence small reactor designs.
This funding
will also provide support for pre-licensing engagement between vendors and
regulators. I’m pleased to say a very successful first event took place in
November with a focus on regulatory issues relating to smaller water-cooled
reactors.
The second is
to help turn new developer’s ideas into detailed designs.
To help deliver
this, over the next 3 years we will be providing up to £44 million pounds in
R&D funding to support Generation IV advanced reactors.
The third
request was to create the right market conditions to enable developers to bring
new reactors to market.
A crucial
element of this is demonstrating commercial viability – in particular, the
ability of new designs and delivery mechanisms to attract investment and
generate cost-competitive electricity.
Smaller scale
designs, using modular and other modern manufacturing techniques offer the
possibility of achieving these aims, and I am grateful to those developers who
have shared their financial estimates with us.
But I want to
go further, so I’m setting up an expert finance group to report to me by the
spring on smaller scale designs, identifying the barriers to investment and how
these might be overcome.
I will also be
considering what further steps government might take to support smaller reactor
designs and maximise the benefits to the UK supply chain.
In the Clean
Growth Strategy we confirmed £460 million of funding to support work in areas
including future nuclear fuels, new nuclear manufacturing techniques, recycling
and reprocessing, and advanced reactor design.
As part of this
I am happy to announce that we will soon be launching the second phase of the
Nuclear Innovation Programme. This will include up to £8m pounds for work on
modern safety and security methodologies and advanced fuel studies.
We have also
recently awarded contracts worth over £5 million pounds for work on materials
and manufacturing as part of the Small Business Research Initiative that we
launched last year
… and I am happy
that we will be working with AMEC, Nuclear AMRC, Fraser Nash Consultancy and
the University of Sheffield on this essential work.”
The updated BEIS policy
paper on advanced nuclear technology options issued on Monday (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advanced-nuclear-technologies),
having issued an earlier version on 7 December 2017.
A so-called “Commercialisation of Small Nuclear in the
UK” event took place on 5-6 November 2018, at the Manufacturing Technology
Centre in Coventry, at which Richard
Harrington announced further information on commitments made in the Nuclear
Sector Deal, including the development of the Advanced Manufacturing and
Construction programme.
The updated Government
briefing document records:
“Advanced Nuclear Technologies (otherwise known as small nuclear or small reactor technologies) encompass a wide range of nuclear reactor technologies under development. The common attributes that these technologies share is that they are smaller than conventional nuclear power station reactors and are designed so that much of the plant can be fabricated in a factory environment and transported to site, reducing construction risk and making them less capital-intensive.
Generally
advanced nuclear technologies fall into one of 2 groups:
- Generation III water-cooled Small
Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are similar to existing nuclear power
station reactors but on a smaller scale
- Generation IV and beyond Advanced
Modular Reactors (AMRs), which use novel cooling systems or fuels to offer
new functionality (such as industrial process heat) and potentially a step
change reduction in costs
There is a
large variety of potential technologies within these groups which span
technology types from conventional water-cooled reactors, to Generation IV
reactors using novel fuels and coolants, as well as fusion reactor concepts.
Given this
breadth, government believes that “SMR”, as commonly understood, is too narrow
a description for technologies coming forward after the current generation of
nuclear power stations.
Instead government considers this to be the “Advanced Nuclear” market.”
The report, Market and Technical Assessment of Micro Nuclear
Reactors(MNRs), received some media coverage in the business and specialist press, which suggested SMRs could well be
used as back-up to existing GW-scale NPPs, arguing:
“Due to their
size and unique characteristics, there are several potential market
opportunities for MNRs. A potential global accessible market of up to 2850
megawatts has been estimated by around 2030. The largest immediate market is
likely to be nuclear power plant standby, with other markets starting on a much
smaller scale, with the potential for longer term growth.”
It
adds: “The UK may be able to utilise and grow its existing nuclear
knowledge and supply chain into a new product line.
Simultaneously with
the updated Government report, a
private sector consultancy, Visongain released a new SMR study, Small Modular Nuclear Reactor
Market Report 2019-2029: CAPEX and Capacity Forecasts by Nuclear Reactor Type (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/03/22/1759232/0/en/Lead-analyst-says-The-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-market-is-valued-at-4-5bn-in-2019.html)
Sadly, this report appears
not to have enjoyed independent peer review, as it includes some howler errors,
the most egregious of which asserts “[SMRs] are one of the potential sources of CO2-free district
heat production.” Neither GW-scale nuclear power plants, or SMMRs can produce CO2-free
electricity or heat. The commissioners, Visongain, of this report are selling it for £2699 for a single user licence.
I would
advise potential purchasers to apply strict caveat emptor to an non peer reviewed
report, if they are seeking accuracy
Backstory
Government performs U-turn on
smaller nuclear reactors
New Civil
Engineer, 26 March, 2019
By Sam Sholli
The government
looks set to perform a U-turn on its approach to smaller nuclear reactors,
after previously being accused of “crushing” their development.
The government
has been reluctant to invest in the emerging technology but a new
government-funded report has backed the creation of hundreds of micro nuclear
reactors (MNRs) in the UK.
The study
produced by Nuvia, WSP and Atomic Acquisitions concludes that there is great
potential for development of MNRs between 2030 and 2035.
The study, Market
and Technical Assessment of Micro Nuclear Reactors, comes after a
nuclear engineer’s report released last year criticised
the government for ending the development of small modular reactors in the UK.
In October last
year, documents obtained by the Guardian also revealed that energy
firms’ requests for billions of pounds of
government funding to construct small modular reactors for nuclear power
stations had been rejected.
The latest study
says wider use of the reactors will benefit the UK economy. The largest
market for the reactors would likely be as backup generators to regular nuclear
plants, it concludes.
“Due to their
size and unique characteristics, there are several potential market
opportunities for MNRs. A potential global accessible market of up to 2850
megawatts has been estimated by around 2030,” the report states.
“The largest
immediate market is likely to be nuclear power plant standby, with other
markets starting on a much smaller scale, with the potential for longer term
growth.”
It
adds: “The UK may be able to utilise and grow its existing nuclear
knowledge and supply chain into a new product line.
“A potential
MNR industry could enable the UK to grow indigenous civil nuclear reactor
manufacturers gaining intellectual capital at low entry cost. At present this
core part of the civil nuclear supply chain is not provided in the UK.”
The report also
highlights risk factors that will negatively impact the attractiveness of funding
small nuclear reactors. These include the “prohibitive” cost of regulation and
the small chance of the public accepting the location of small nuclear reactors
closer to population centres.
“The political
environment and level of commitment in relation to MNRs is uncertain. There is
a high risk that commitment may change before industry has the chance to
develop competitive products in the long term,” it adds.
Tiny
nuclear reactors could spring up across Britain by 2030, report says
City
AM, Monday 25 March 2019
There
could be hundreds of tiny nuclear reactors around the world by the end of the
next decade and they may bring major economic benefits to the UK, a
government-funded study has found.
So-called
micro nuclear reactors (MNRs) typically produce up to 30 megawatts of energy,
around the same as ten wind turbines.
A
report commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy (Beis) found that the fledgeling technology could tap into a 2,850
megawatt global market by around 2030.
The
small reactors are cheaper and more flexible than traditional nuclear sites,
and more reliable than renewables such as wind or solar, which rely on the
weather.
They
could provide energy for remote communities, military bases and desalination
plants.
However,
the largest market would likely be as backup generators to regular nuclear
plants, the report by Nuvia, WSP and Atomic Acquisitions, found.
However
the consultants warned that regulation and public concerns could hamper the
technology’s future.
“The
political environment and level of commitment in relation to MNRs is uncertain.
There is a high risk that commitment may change before industry has the chance
to develop competitive products in the long term,” the report said.
Meanwhile
projects could be stalled by expensive requirements from regulators.
But
if the challenges are overcome, the technology could boost the economy.
“The
UK may be able to utilise and grow its existing nuclear knowledge and supply
chain into a new product line. Growing the economic benefit from high value
added jobs and manufacture and leveraging existing intellectual and physical
assets,” it said.
The
government has had to go back to the drawing board in recent months after both
Hitachi and Toshiba pulled out of plans for nuclear reactors.
It
comes as wind power is becoming cheaper, and looks set to account for a third
of Britain's energy needs by 2030, according to government forecasts.
Policy paper
Advanced
Nuclear Technologies
Information about
Advanced Nuclear Technologies, previously known as Small Modular Reactors.
Published 7
December 2017
Last updated 22 March 2019 — see all updates
Last updated 22 March 2019 — see all updates
From:
Documents
HTML
PDF, 2.55MB, 30
pages
This file may
not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Request
an accessible format.
If you use
assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this
document in a more accessible format, please email enquiries@beis.gov.uk.
Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive
technology you use.
PDF, 959KB, 16
pages
This file may
not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Request
an accessible format.
If you use
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Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive
technology you use.
Details
The advanced
nuclear sector has the potential to play an important part in the UK’s
Industrial Strategy building on our existing economic strengths and
competitive advantages in nuclear whilst shaping new advanced nuclear markets
and contributing to tackling the Clean
Growth Grand Challenge.
Published 7
December 2017
Last updated 22 March 2019 + show all updates
Last updated 22 March 2019 + show all updates
Lead analyst says: “The
small modular nuclear reactor market is valued at $4.5bn in 2019”
Visiongain has
launched a new energy report Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Market Report
2019-2029: CAPEX and Capacity Forecasts by Nuclear Reactor Type (Pressurised
Water Reactor (PWR), Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), and Others) Plus
Leading Company Analysis and Leading National Market Analysis.
March 22, 2019 06:51
ET | Source:
Visiongain Ltd
London,
UK, March 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A typical nuclear power plant has an
average life of 30-35 years and is licensed to operate up to 35 years. If
licenses are not renewed, the nuclear plant will go through a decommissioning
process which involves the disposal of radioactive wastes and dismantling of
nuclear reactors. Nuclear power plant decommissioning has become a profitable
business, and a majority of companies have started offering
nuclear-decommissioning services. High capital costs associated with the
development of traditional nuclear plants is a potential driver for small
modular reactors.
Small
modular nuclear reactors are one of the potential sources of CO2-free
district heat production. In the last few years, small modular reactor (SMR)
projects have been making substantial progress, with two reactors currently
under construction: the CAREM-25 (a prototype) in Argentina and the KLT-40S in
the Russian Federation. Interest in SMRs is being driven by a desire to reduce
the total capital costs of nuclear power plants and to provide power to small
grid systems, leading to more designs reaching advanced stages of development.
For free sample pages on this report please click on:
https://www.visiongain.com/report/small-modular-nuclear-reactor-market-report-2019-2029/
https://www.visiongain.com/report/small-modular-nuclear-reactor-market-report-2019-2029/
The
Visiongain report analyst commented “Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR)
market is expected to witness a high growth on owing to low investments costs
when compared to traditional nuclear power plants. SMR’s are low-mid
capital-intensive nuclear power plants, and hence, numerous companies are
offering equipment and solutions related to the development/deployment of
SMR’s.”
If
you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, please send an
e-mail to sara.peerun@visiongain.com
or call her on +44 20 7549 9987
Leading
companies featured in the report who are developing small modular nuclear
reactors include: Bechtel Corporation, BWX Technologies Inc., General Atomics,
General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec International, Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries, Ltd., Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Rolls
Royce Plc, Terrestrial Energy Inc., and Toshiba International Corporation.
Nuclear Industry Association
(NIA) annual conference 2017
Speech by
Energy Minister Richard Harrington at the Nuclear Industry Association’s annual
conference.
Published 7
December 2017
From:
Delivered on:
7 December 2017 (Transcript of the
speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Introduction
Good morning
and thank you to the NIA for the opportunity to address you all today.
Firstly, I want
to congratulate John Hutton on his new role as Chairman of Energy UK - which
means I can look forward to him lobbying me on my entire brief!
I also want to
thank John, his team and the many industry leaders here today, who have
contributed to the development of the Nuclear Sector Deal.
Clean Growth and Industrial Strategy
Sector Deals are a major component of the Industrial Strategy, which we published just last
Monday.
The strategy is
one of this government’s top priorities, because it sets out, in practical
terms, how we intend to build a Britain fit for the future – a Britain ready to
embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.
By focusing on
the 5 foundations of productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, business
environment and place, we can unlock our potential and in doing so build
prosperous communities across the UK.
We also
identified 4 Grand Challenges – areas where we can seize the
initiative with the technologies and industries of tomorrow. One of these is
clean growth.
This follows
September’s Clean Growth Strategy, which set out how the
whole country can benefit as we cement our place as the world leader in low
carbon technologies and industries.
The nuclear
industry is well placed to deliver against these important objectives –
providing clean, reliable energy while growing the economy.
The sector
provides tens-of-thousands of highly-skilled jobs and benefits diverse regions
across the UK, from Cumbria to Somerset and from Wales to Oxfordshire.
Look at Hinkley
Point C: when complete, the plant will provide enough clean energy to meet an
impressive 7% of the UK’s electricity needs…
…but the
project has already begun to benefit the South West, which is now home to the
2,500 workers currently on site and where we have seen over £450 million in
contracts let to local businesses in the first year.
We want to
build on the momentum created by Hinkley and we continue to work closely with
EDF, CGN, Horizon and Nugen on their proposals for future plants. I also
welcome the news that Toshiba has selected a preferred bidder for the Nugen
project, and we now look forward to continuing to work with KEPCO to discuss
their plans.
At the other
end of the fuel cycle, we continue to lead the way in waste and decommissioning
and we are seeing the benefit of this at Sellafield. Today, our expertise
across the nuclear sector is recognised throughout the world.
We have to use
this as a springboard.
As the
Industrial Strategy makes clear, we must build on the UK’s strengths to take
advantage of the opportunities of the future.
So I welcome today’s publication from the Nuclear Industry Council
of proposals for a sector deal which sets out a number of steps to deliver on
that potential.
Boosting the
competitiveness of the sector by driving down costs…
While
supporting high skilled, well paid jobs in regions across the United Kingdom…
We will be
working with industry over the coming weeks to explore their proposals in
detail.
I am pleased
with the progress of our discussions to date, and as co-chair of the Nuclear
Industry Council, I have witnessed first-hand the determination shown by the
industry’s leaders to see it succeed.
Government too
is committed to a thriving and innovative industry, so I am pleased to announce
a package of new measures to boost innovation and provide greater clarity on
our future plans.
National Policy Statement (NPS)
Government
recognises the value industry places on policy certainty, so today I am pleased
to launch a consultation on siting arrangements for large scale new
nuclear plants. This will begin the process towards designating a
new National Policy Statement for conventional nuclear power stations
deployable between 2026 and 2035.
This initial
consultation sets out the proposed siting process and assessment criteria for
sites potentially suitable for nuclear plants with single reactor capacity
above 1GW.
Having this new
National Policy Statement in place will provide reassurance and certainty to
developers into the 2030s.
Geological Disposal Facility (GDF)
Looking further
ahead, we recognise the need to implement a responsible long term solution for
the disposal of higher activity radioactive waste.
That is why
early in the New Year, we will be launching two consultations as part of the
process to site a Geological Disposal Facility for higher activity radioactive
waste. We will be consulting on a framework for future planning decisions and
separately, on our approach to working with local communities in the siting
process.
Internationally,
it has been shown that ‘willing host communities’ are central to a successful
siting of a Geological Disposal Facility. Strong, effective and lasting
relationships, built on mutual trust and a shared vision of the long-term
economic benefits for the host community, are key to successful delivery of a
GDF.
These
consultations will help reassure industry that investment in the supply chain,
both in people and capability, will pay dividends once we move into the
delivery phase of this project.
Again, this
will support both the objectives of our Industrial Strategy.
On our current
estimates, at the peak of construction, the site will support up to 1,000 jobs,
with an additional 1,000 jobs in the supply chain.
When it’s
ready, the facility will sustain around 600 jobs a year for more than a
century, while delivering significant investment and innovation to local
communities.
Innovation and future technology
Another key
element of our Industrial Strategy is a big commitment to supporting
innovation, with a pledge to raise R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
It is only by
innovating across the nuclear supply chain that will we be able to maintain our
competitiveness into the future.
This means new
approaches to nuclear technology that drive down costs and improve safety.
I know you will
be keen to maintain the pace.
After all, the
UK has the potential to become a world-leader in developing the next
generations of nuclear technologies.
Your appetite
is clear; industry has repeatedly called for clarity on the government’s plans
for emerging nuclear technologies.
So today I am
pleased to be able to set out the first steps in our proposed way forward.
We have spent
the last 18 months working closely with you to understand new technological
developments, and to assess their viability through the Small Modular Reactor competition.
That exercise
is now closed, but it has greatly informed the evidence base and helped shape
our thinking in this area.
In particular,
3 key requests came through.
The first was
that you want better and earlier access to Regulators.
So, as
announced in the Clean Growth Strategy, we are providing up to £7 million of
funding to regulators to build the capability and capacity needed to assess and
licence small reactor designs.
This funding
will also provide support for pre-licensing engagement between vendors and
regulators. I’m pleased to say a very successful first event took place in
November with a focus on regulatory issues relating to smaller water-cooled
reactors.
The second is
to help turn new developer’s ideas into detailed designs.
To help deliver
this, over the next 3 years we will be providing up to £44 million pounds in
R&D funding to support Generation IV advanced reactors.
The third
request was to create the right market conditions to enable developers to bring
new reactors to market.
A crucial
element of this is demonstrating commercial viability – in particular, the
ability of new designs and delivery mechanisms to attract investment and
generate cost-competitive electricity.
Smaller scale
designs, using modular and other modern manufacturing techniques offer the
possibility of achieving these aims, and I am grateful to those developers who
have shared their financial estimates with us.
But I want to
go further, so I’m setting up an expert finance group to report to me by the
spring on smaller scale designs, identifying the barriers to investment and how
these might be overcome.
I will also be
considering what further steps government might take to support smaller reactor
designs and maximise the benefits to the UK supply chain.
In the Clean
Growth Strategy we confirmed £460 million of funding to support work in areas
including future nuclear fuels, new nuclear manufacturing techniques, recycling
and reprocessing, and advanced reactor design.
As part of this
I am happy to announce that we will soon be launching the second phase of the
Nuclear Innovation Programme. This will include up to £8m pounds for work on
modern safety and security methodologies and advanced fuel studies.
We have also
recently awarded contracts worth over £5 million pounds for work on materials
and manufacturing as part of the Small Business Research Initiative that we
launched last year
… and I am
happy that we will be working with AMEC, Nuclear AMRC, Fraser Nash Consultancy
and the University of Sheffield on this essential work.
Our leadership
in nuclear technology is not just about progress in fission technology. I also
want to see us maintain our global advantage in fusion technology.
So I am
delighted to confirm the announcement of £86m of funding to establish the
National Fusion Technology Platform.
Our investment
will support UK industry in targeting major contracts for nuclear fusion and
build on our expertise in this potentially transformative field.
This builds on
the pledge we made in June to underwrite our fair share of funding for JET
until the end of 2020. These actions underline our commitment to close
collaboration with our European partners on nuclear research and training as we
prepare to leave the EU and Euratom.
Euratom
While we are
leaving the European Union, we have been clear that our decision to withdraw
from the Euratom Treaty in no way diminishes our nuclear ambitions.
The objective
for our negotiations is to seek maximum continuity with Euratom across nuclear
trade, nuclear research and nuclear regulation.
And I am
pleased to say that we are making good progress with our negotiations with the
EU, with the IAEA, and with our key trading partners across the globe.
The first phase
of EU negotiations has focussed on legal and technical issues related to
nuclear materials and safeguards arrangements.
In his report,
the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union noted that:
We are now
close to reaching agreement on the vast majority of issues set out in our
position papers on Euratom.
So we are keen
to continue this good progress by moving on as quickly as possible to the
negotiations on the future relationship with Euratom, with the aim of
maintaining a very close a relationship.
But we don’t
underestimate the challenge we are facing. There are some areas, such as free
movement of goods and services, which are linked to broader negotiations with
the European Union.
That is why we
are putting the necessary arrangements in place to provide certainty for the
civil nuclear industry that it will be able to continue to be successful under
any scenario.
This includes
negotiating bilateral safeguards agreements with the International Atomic
Energy Agency…
… Negotiating
bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreements with Japan, Australia, the United
States and Canada…
… Delivering a
new domestic nuclear safeguards regime, regulated by the Office for Nuclear
Regulation …
… Exceeding the
standard that the international community would expect from the UK…
… And the
Nuclear Safeguards Bill, giving government the power to establish that domestic
safeguards regime. Good progress has been made on the bill, which passed
Commons Committee Stage on 14 November.
We’ve also held
many discussions with the nuclear sector to better understand your concerns,
including my own attendance at September’s industry forum.
Most
importantly, we will continue to engage closely with you in parallel with our
discussions with the EU…
… And I can
announce that we will be holding further industry roundtables on a recurring
basis.
Today is
another opportunity to engage, and in a moment you will be hearing from David
Wagstaff who is the head of EU Negotiations within the Euratom team.
We also have a
team of Officials from the Civil Nuclear Directorate in the event space to
answer your questions on any of the today’s announcements.
Conclusion
These
announcements all point to the great opportunities facing the nuclear industry,
but we know the sector also faces a big challenge to remain competitive going
forward.
This is
emphasised by the falling price of offshore wind. While this is great news for
our clean growth agenda, it puts a spotlight on nuclear. And the advancement of
technologies such as battery storage will only increase the pressure on nuclear
to compete with other clean technologies.
To do this, it
is clear we must reduce costs across the nuclear lifecycle – from new build to
decommissioning.
Government will
play a key role in this, but there is no doubt that industry has to lead the
way.
So I’m pleased
to see you publish your vision for enduring success, based on ambitious,
specific cost reduction… and I look forward to discussing these further with
John and his team.
This government
is committed to a bold, new Industrial Strategy, with Clean Growth as one of
the central components and it is clear nuclear has the potential to deliver
against these ambitions.
With a clear
commitment to cost reduction, I look forward to supporting a strong and
innovative nuclear industry; one which is fit to deliver for decades to come.
Thank you.
Published 7
December 2017
December
construction start for Chinese SMR
25 March 2019
Share
China's Ministry of
Environment is proceeding with environmental impact assessment for a project to
build an ACP100 small modular reactor (SMR) at Changjiang, Hainan, with
construction to begin by the end of this year.
Potential applications of the ACP100 (Image: CNNC)
According to Chinese publication Nuclear
World, first concrete is to be poured on 31 December. Construction is
expected to take 65 months, with the 125 MWe unit expected to start up by 31
May 2025, subject to relevant governmental approvals.
The ACP100 was identified as a 'key project'
in China's 12th Five-Year Plan, and is developed from the larger
ACP1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR). The design, which has 57 fuel assemblies and integral steam
generators, incorporates passive safety features and will be installed
underground. China in 2016 announced plans to build a demonstration floating
nuclear power plant based on the ACP100S variant of the China National Nuclear
Corporation (CNNC) design.
A two-unit demonstration plant was originally
planned for construction by CNNC New Energy Corporation, a joint venture of
CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corp in Putian county, at the south of Fujian
province. In early 2017, the site for the first ACP100 units was changed to
Changjiang, on Hainan island, with a larger reactor to be built at Putian.
The ACP100 plant will be located on the
northwest side of the existing Changjiang nuclear power plant, according to the
22 March announcement. The site is already home to two operating CNP600 PWRs,
with two Hualong One units also planned for construction.
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