The first fuel assembly was loaded into the reactor on 18 August. This was announced by the press service of Rosatom’s subsidiary OKB Gidropress, the company that designed the reactor unit. According to Andrei Lebedev, Vice President for South Asia at ASE (a subsidiary of Rosatom), fuel loading was started ahead of the schedule. He said that Unit 3 was expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2017.
“We passed another milestone in the construction of the second phase of the Tianwan NPP project,” said ASE’s President Valery Limarenko. “Fuel loading has begun at Unit 3. It is telling that the first two units built by us in cooperation with China are recognized among the best in the country. Tianwan is where we use our most innovative solutions in the fields of nuclear power and construction management. We hope that Tianwan II will serve the people of China and strengthen ties between our countries.”
A total of 163 fuel assemblies will be loaded into the reactor. TVS-2M fuel has better operating performance and is more cost efficient as it enables longer refueling cycles. As soon as the loading process and subsequent tests are completed, Unit 3 will go critical. The next step after the criticality is reached is connection to the Chinese power grid.” Commercial operation of Tianwan Unit 3 is planned to begin in 2018.
The Tianwan nuclear project (currently in its second phase, which includes construction of Units 3 and 4) is carried out in China’s Jiangsu province with the input from ASE Group. The Tianwan nuclear power plant is the largest project delivered jointly by Russia and China. Tianwan Units 1 and 2 were commissioned in 2007 and have an annual capacity of over 15 billion kWh.
100 million families
According to China National Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (CNNP), Tianwan generated more than 160 billion kWh over ten years of its commercial operation. This amount is equivalent to the annual power consumption of 100 million Chinese families. Tianwan Units 1 and 2 have operated seamlessly since their connection to the grid. Tianwan was the first nuclear power supplier to receive the China Quality Award.
The power plant facilitates the development of infrastructure in Lianyungang, contributes to regional economic development and supports authorities in their fight against poverty. According to statistics, Tianwan paid around 15 billion yuan (1 US dollar equals 6.67 yuan) in taxes and created over 17,000 jobs over ten years after it was connected to the grid.
CNNP estimates that the two power units of Tianwan I save 5.2 million tons of coal equivalent every year and cut emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 12.76 million, 120,000 and 40,000 tons respectively.
