The first pile for the pile foundation works of Unit 1 cooling tower of Phase I of the Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Heating and Power Plant project, undertaken by China Energy Engineering Group Anhui Electric Power Construction No. 2 Company, has begun drilling, marking the start of construction of the cooling tower works.

The project is located in Xuwei New Area, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. It is the world's first demonstration project coupling a pressurized water reactor with a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor for heating supply, and also the first nuclear power unit to start construction in China during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The project focuses primarily on industrial heating while also supplying electricity. Units 1 and 2 adopt China's third-generation nuclear power technology "Hualong One," over which China holds fully independent intellectual property rights, while Unit 3 adopts the fourth-generation nuclear power technology high-temperature gas-cooled reactor; through technological coupling, the project achieves synergy between high-quality steam supply capacity and power generation capacity. Anhui Electric Power Construction No. 2 Company and China Nuclear Huaxing formed a consortium to undertake the natural draft cooling tower works and related ancillary works for Units 1 and 2, as well as the 500 kV cable corridor and 220 kV cable trench works for Unit 3.

After the completion of Phase I of the project, it is expected to supply 32.5 million tons of industrial steam annually, with maximum power generation exceeding 11.5 billion kWh, and to reduce the burning of 7.26 million tons of standard coal and carbon dioxide emissions by 19.6 million tons each year. The project will form close energy linkages with the Lianyungang petrochemical industrial base, effectively easing the pressure on the petrochemical park to reduce emissions and decarbonize, and ushering in a new era of China's nuclear energy transitioning toward diversified supply.

Source:China Energy Engineering Group