According to Nuclear Engineering International, this nuclear power complex will consist of 6 reactors. When fully put into operation, the generating units are expected to replace about 16.8 million tons of coal per year and help reduce about 50.9 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
A noteworthy point of the project is the "dissipation tank" cooling tower, over 200m high, with a spray area of 16,800 m2, which functions to bring heat out of the reactor. Seawater will be used as a secondary cooling source.
According to the Global Times, this design helps save water and is considered more sustainable than traditional models.
Mr. Yu Xiangdong - CEO of Trieu Nguyen Nuclear Power Company - said that the application of this technology helps expand the ability to choose locations to build nuclear facilities and provide reference experience for China's nuclear power development in the future.
The cooling tower, which is commonly used in coal-fired power plants, is described as a natural-mechanical cooling system, which can operate independently for about 2 hours if the water source is interrupted. This time allows engineers enough time to turn off the reactor in emergency situations.
According to reports, this design aims to increase safety in nuclear power operation.
Mr. Lin Boqiang - Director of the China Energy Economics Research Center at Xiamen University - said that the cooling tower is a standard configuration for coal-fired power plants and an essential component for domestic nuclear power plants.
According to him, coastal nuclear power plants often use direct cooling with seawater due to lower costs and only in special cases such as environmental requirements or limited seawater sources need to use cooling towers.
Mr. Lin said that for domestic projects, cooling towers are the main method of heat dissipation and similar systems have been widely used around the world, while emphasizing the role of the nuclear power industry in China's low-carbon energy transition.
