China Launches First Hualong One Reactor Cooled by a 666‑Foot Tower

On September 7, crews in Shandong’s coastal province kicked off a pretty big undertaking – they began the raft foundation for Unit 2 of the Zhaoyuan nuclear power plant. It’s not just any reactor; it’s the second Hualong One in the world to be cooled by a towering structure that rises 666 feet into the sky.

The pour itself is a marathon of concrete, lasting roughly 60 hours straight and delivering about 8,800 cubic metres of mix into the foundation. You can picture a river of grey material flowing nonstop, workers rotating in shifts, all to lay a rock‑solid base for what will become a gigawatt‑class power source.

Hualong One is China’s home‑grown third‑generation design. It’s built to run for around 60 years, combining active and passive safety systems that aim to keep things stable even if something goes awry. The core itself is about a gigawatt in capacity, which is enough to power millions of homes.

What sets this plant apart is the cooling method. Instead of pulling in massive amounts of seawater – the usual play for many reactors – the Zhaoyuan units will use a pair of giant cooling towers, each standing 666 feet tall. Warm steam from the turbine will be sent up the tower, where it condenses and falls back down as cooled water, ready to be recirculated. It’s a bit like a massive, industrial waterfall, but engineered for continuous, reliable heat removal.

The plan calls for six such reactors, each linked to its own towering cooler. When the whole complex is up and running, the site could generate roughly 50 billion kWh per year – enough electricity for over five million people, give or take. In other words, it’s a sizable chunk of the region’s future energy mix.

Beyond the numbers, the project signals a shift toward more land‑based cooling solutions, which can be advantageous in areas where seawater access is limited or environmental concerns make direct discharge problematic. It also showcases China’s confidence in its own reactor designs, pushing forward with a technology that blends modern safety concepts with a distinctive visual landmark.

All in all, the start of the foundation pour is more than just concrete and steel – it’s a concrete step (no pun intended) toward a new chapter in nuclear power, one where towering structures help keep the lights on without relying on the sea.