04.06.2007 // Press service of Atomstroyexport

Atomstroyexport has put 1st unit of Tianwan NPP into commercial service

A delegation of Atomstroyexport is returning from Beijing with a protocol on the preliminary acceptance and the start of the commercial service of the 1st unit of Tianwan NPP. The protocol has been signed by the director general of Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation (JNPC) and the head of Atomstroyexport’s Department for NPP Construction in China. In the next two years the unit will be under guarantee period.
 
This protocol is an official acknowledgement that ASE has successfully fulfilled all of its contractual commitments. Presently, the unit, with its WWER-1000 reactor, is operating at 100% capacity and is generating electricity for the province of Jiangsu.

The commissioning of the 1st unit of Tianwan NPP is a crucial event for the Russian nuclear power industry. After a long pause in NPP construction in the world, ASE has become the first company to launch a modern and safe nuclear power unit. Thereby, the company has proved that the Russian nuclear power organizations have enough potential and resources for implementing the most complex and responsible projects.

The key participants in the project were St.Petersburg Atomenergoproject (the general designer of TNNP), Hydropress (the designer of the reactor), Kurchatov Institute (the research supervisor) as well as Izhora Plants, Power Machines and other companies producing equipment for NPPs. Over 150 Russian companies and organizations were involved on the construction of the 1st unit of TNPP.

The unit has a WWER-1000/428 reactor and 6–1000–60/3000 turbine with TBB-100002Y3 generator.

The improved WWER-1000/428 reactor with enhanced neutron parameters and safety standards has a four-channel security structure and a whole number of systems that make TNPP a unique project.

The reactor has a double containment: the internal containment keeps radiation inside, while the external one protects the reactor from outside impacts. The reactor also has a special molten-core “catcher.” The catcher is unique. China is the first country having such a system. The catcher has been designed by Russian specialists and approved by IAEA.

The successful completion of the 1st unit of Tianwan NPP will certainly pave the way for new NPP construction contracts in China.

Dossier

On Dec 18 1992 the Russian and Chinese governments agreed that they would cooperate on building an NPP in China and that Russia would provide China with a government credit. In 1992–1997 the sides considered details, concluded contracts and additional agreements, prepared the feasibility report, Russia supplied China with necessary materials. At first, the sides planned to build the NPP in the province of Liaoning, but, later, they chose Lianyungang City of Jiangsu Province. On Dec 29 1997 Russia and China signed a general contract stipulating that Atomstroyexport should build in Lianyungang two nuclear power units with WWER-1000 reactors with a total capacity of 2000 MW. The construction was started in 1998.

Atomstroyexport is the leading Russian organization implementing inter-governmental agreements on the construction of NPPs abroad. Presently, it is the only company in the world that is simultaneously building six nuclear power units in China, India, Iran and Bulgaria.