China General Nuclear Power Group pioneers new cooling tower

Construction has commenced on a new nuclear power unit in China's Shandong province. The new cooling tower for the domestically-designed Hualong One, the country's third-generation reactor, has been described by those behind the project as a significant step in the expansion of China's clean energy infrastructure.

The project, located in Zhaoyuan, Yantai, is being run by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN). Once complete, it will be CGN's tenth nuclear power base, with plans to ultimately house six Hualong One units at the site.

The most distinctive feature of the Zhaoyuan project is the integration of a 203-meter-high high-level water recovery natural draft cooling tower. This is the first time secondary cycle cooling technology has been applied to a Hualong One reactor.

Once all six planned Hualong One units are completed, the Zhaoyuan plant is expected to achieve an annual power generation capacity of 50 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). This output would be sufficient to meet the annual production and residential electricity needs of approximately five million people.

CGN is also planning for broader nuclear energy applications at the Zhaoyuan base, including nuclear heating and utilization scenarios such as providing industrial steam, nuclear-powered hydrogen production and seawater desalination, injecting new momentum into the region's green and low-carbon development.