First AP1000 Nuclear Units Reach Key Milestones
Two Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants being constructed in China have successfully completed significant project milestones.
Sanmen Unit 1—the world’s first AP1000 reactor—achieved initial criticality on June 21. Initial criticality is a nuclear industry term meaning the reactor’s neutron population has remained steady from one generation to the next and the nuclear fission chain reaction is self-sustaining for the first time.
“Today we completed the final major milestone before commercial operation for Westinghouse’s AP1000 nuclear power plant technology,” Westinghouse President and CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez said in a press release announcing the accomplishment. “We are one step closer to delivering the world’s first AP1000 plant to our customer and the world—with our customers, we will provide our customers in China with safe, reliable and clean energy from Sanmen 1.”
The next significant step is connecting the unit to the electric grid. Assuming work continues on schedule, Sanmen Unit 1 will be the first AP1000 nuclear power plant to commence operation.
Meanwhile, at the Haiyang facility, fuel loading began on Unit 1—another AP1000 reactor.…