China's first project to bring nuclear-generated heat to multiple prefecture-level cities has begun operation in Shandong province, supplying heat from the Haiyang nuclear power plant to the cities of Haiyang and Rushan through a 23 km pipeline.

The long-distance heating system began operation on 25 November (Image: SPIC)

The project is the third phase of a commercial heating project called Warm Nuclear No 1 operated by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). After trials the previous winter to provide heat to the plant's dormitory and some local residents, the Haiyang plant officially started providing district heat to the surrounding area in November 2020, and then to the whole Haiyang city.

The Warm Nuclear No 1 project now reaches an area of 12.5 million square metres, and can meet the clean heating needs of about 400,000 people in winter, SPIC said.

Work began on the long-distance supply pipe in February, and the project has required coordination and communication between the different provincial and municipal bodies involved. Since the start of the Warm Nuclear Core No 1 project, some 83 km of nuclear energy heating main network and 11 first-level heat exchange stations have been built, with an investment of nearly CNY4 billion (USD555 million), SPIC said. To date, it has provided a total of 4.56 million Gigajoules (GJ) of zero-carbon heat, replaced 390,000 tons of raw coal consumption, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 720,000 tons, as well as improving winter air quality in Haiyang City.

The Haiyang nuclear power plant is home to two AP1000 pressurised water reactors which entered commercial operation in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors are now under construction at the site with grid connection pencilled in for 2027.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News