HAIKOU, July 15. /TASS/. China plans to complete the construction of the world's first small modular reactor, Lianlong-1 (also known as ACP100), on Hainan in early 2026, reported www.hinews.cn on Wednesday.
"The construction of a small modular reactor will be completed in 58 months," the portal quoted Li Zhenyun, deputy general director of the Hainan division of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) as saying.
According to the developers, Lianlong-1 will be able to generate about 1 billion kWh of electricity annually, which will be enough to supply 526,000 households. It can be used for heating, cooling, steam production for industrial plants, in high-viscosity oil production projects and other purposes.
The project will reduce Hainan's dependence on fossil fuels for power generation and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Lianlong-1 is a pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 125 MW. It was developed by CNNC based on Hualong 1 reactor (ACP1000). Lianlong 1 was approved by the IAEA in 2016 and became the first such small modular reactor in the world. Construction of the first demonstration reactor began at Hainan Changjiang nuclear power plant on July 13.
Small modular reactors are cheaper than conventional reactors, and their construction takes much less time. Smaller dimensions allow them to be delivered ready-made to remote and hard-to-reach areas and to start operating them relatively quickly.