A Pebble-Bed Modular Nuclear Reactor supplies grid electricity – in China

Last month, a Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear power plant (NPP) was connected to an electricity grid and began to supply power to its region. This took place on December 20, at the Shidaowan NPP in China’s Shandong province. “From this moment on, the electricity generated from the Shidaowan nuclear power plant will be dispatched by the state to deliver daily electricity to thousands of households,” highlighted Tsinghua University. The PBMR NPP is composed of two reactors, which drive a single 210 MWe turbine. The first of the PBMRs achieved criticality in September and the second followed suit in November. It was the steam produced by the first reactor that was used to test the turbine. The official designation of the Chinese version of the PBMR concept is High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor – Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM).