China nears completion on huge 7.2Gw nuclear power plant

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has officially commenced full-scale construction on a massive new energy facility in East China’s Shandong Province, a project designed to generate 50 Billion Kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

Once completed, the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Plant will produce enough power to meet the household needs of approximately 5 million people, and the project serves as a significant environmental counterweight with the full facility expected to cut standard coal consumption by 15.27 million tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 46.2 million tons each year.

According to project planners, this reduction offers an environmental benefit equivalent to planting more than 110,000 hectares of forest. The site is ultimately planned to house six Hualong One reactors, totalling a truly world beating installed capacity of about 7.2 million kilowatts (7.2 GWe). Construction on Unit 1 began Tuesday with the pouring of the first concrete, marking the debut of a 203-meter-high (666-foot-high) natural draft cooling tower - a first for the Hualong One reactor model.

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With a spray area of 16,800 square meters, this massive structure enables the plant to shift its primary cooling source from the ocean to the atmosphere. Yu Xiangdong, executive director of Shandong Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Co, noted that this innovation reduces energy consumption and allows for the reuse of water resources.

The introduction of the cooling tower represents a strategic pivot in design. While coastal plants typically rely on direct seawater cooling, this new “secondary-circuit cooling technology” utilizes an atmospheric heat-sink effect.

“By adopting this technology, the Zhaoyuan project expands the siting possibilities for nuclear facilities and provides new reference experience for China’s future nuclear development,” Yu said, as reported by Global Times.

The facility also introduces a “natural + mechanical” dual-layer safety system designed to provide robust operational buffers. Yang Yazhang, deputy general manager of CGN Power Engineering Co, explained that the natural draft tower can sustain operations for at least two hours if the external water supply is lost, ensuring sufficient time for a safe shutdown.

Complementing this, the plant is the first Hualong One unit to feature a nuclear-grade mechanical draft tower equipped with a large on-site water tank capable of sustaining reactor cooling for at least 30 days without replenishment.

“These two systems together form a ‘natural + mechanical’ secondary-circuit cooling configuration, creating a comprehensive, dual-layer cooling-source protection system that covers both the conventional and nuclear islands,” Yang added.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, highlighted the significance of adapting this technology for a coastal site.

While cooling towers are standard for inland projects, Lin noted that integrating them with Hualong One technology demonstrates the versatility of China’s manufacturing base.

He added that the project leaves the industry well-positioned to support a sustainable energy transformation, proving that nuclear facilities can be adapted to meet specific environmental requirements or resource limitations.