Construction of a new metro is beginning in China
China's Ministry of Environment is proceeding with an environmental impact assessment of a project to build an ACP100 small modular reactor (SMR) in Changjiang, Hainan, with construction set to begin by the end of this year.
According to the Chinese publication Nuclear World, the first concrete is due to be poured on December 31. Construction is expected to take 65 months, with the 125 MWe capacity expected to be operational by May 31, 2025, subject to relevant government approvals.
The ACP100 has been identified as a "key project" in China's 12th Five-Year Plan and is a modification of the larger ACP1000 pressurized water reactor (PWR). The design, which has 57 fuel assemblies and integrated steam generators, incorporates passive safety features and will be installed underground. China announced plans in 2016 to build a demonstration floating nuclear power plant based on the ACP100S.
The two-element demonstration plant was originally planned for construction by CNNC New Energy Corporation, a joint venture of CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corp. In early 2017, the site for the first ACP100 units was changed to Changjiang, on Hainan Island, with a larger reactor to be built in Putian.
The ACP100 small modular reactor will be located in the northwest part of the existing Yangjiang nuclear power plant. The site already has two operating CNP600 PWRs, with plans to deploy two more of this type.
The ACP100 is planned to be mass-produced as an industrial power generator, such as for district heating, for seawater desalination, as well as for energy production on floating platforms (see illustration).
