China puts into operation a project for long-distance heat supply from Haiyang NPP
2024-01-29 18:05
China's first project to supply heat to several prefecture-level cities from a nuclear plant has been put into operation in Shandong province, supplying heat from the Haiyang nuclear power plant to the cities of Haiyang and Rushan through a 23 kilometre-long pipeline.
This project is the third phase of a commercial heating project called Warm Nuclear No.1, which is led by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). Following tests the previous winter to provide heat to the station dormitory and some local households, Haiyang NPP officially started supplying centralised heating for the surrounding area in November 2020, and then for the whole of Haiyang.
SPIC said the Warm Nuclear No.1 project now covers an area of 12.5 million m2 and can meet the clean heating needs of about 400,000 people in winter.
Work on the main pipeline began in February and the project required coordination and communication between the various provincial and municipal agencies involved. Since its launch, the Warm Nuclear Core No.1 project has built about 83 kilometres of heat pipeline from the nuclear plant and 11 tier one heat exchange stations with an investment of nearly 4 billion yuan ($555 million), SPIC said. To date, the project has delivered a total of 4.56 million GJ of "carbon-free" heat, saved 390,000 tonnes of natural coal and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 720,000 tonnes, as well as improved air quality in Haiyang in winter.
The Haiyan NPP site hosts two AP1000 pressurised water reactors, which entered commercial operation in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors are currently under construction at the site with planned grid connection in 2027.