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China begins construction of the world's first small modular reactor on Hainan

Small modular reactors are cheaper than conventional reactors, and their construction takes much less time

HAIKOU, July 13. /TASS/. Construction of the world's first small modular reactor, Linglong 1 (also known as ACP100), began on Tuesday in China's Hainan province, reported Xinhua.

This third generation reactor was developed by China National Nuclear Corporation and will be located at Changjiang nuclear power plant. It can be used for power generation, heating, seawater desalination and other tasks.

The reactor has been under development since 2010. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in 2017, but has been delayed due to regulatory review.

Linglong 1 is a pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 125 MW. It was developed on the basis of the Hualong-1 reactor. Linglong 1 was approved by the IAEA in 2016 and became the first such small modular reactor in the world.

Small modular reactors are cheaper than conventional reactors, and their construction takes much less time. Their small dimensions allow them to be delivered ready-made to remote and hard-to-reach areas and to start operating them relatively quickly.

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