Background: The AP1000 reactor, explained
Current state
| Status | Under construction |
| Design | CAP1000 (PWR) |
| Net capacity | 1,150 MWe |
| Country | China |
| Vendor | SPIC (CAP1000) |
| Owner / operator | CNNC |
| Construction start | 2023 |
| Original COD target | — |
| Current COD estimate | 2027 |
| Schedule slippage | — |
Notes
In installation phase: reactor building dome hoisted 2025-12-31 and final large-module (CB20) lift 2026-04-26 per CNNC/CNNP disclosures. CNNP 2025 annual report (as of 2026-03-31) lists planned commercial operation 2027 — earlier than the WNA/PRIS 2028 estimate; COD set to operator target 2027 pending independent confirmation. Dome and module milestones trace to CNNC corporate sources.
Milestone log
- 2023 — Construction start (first concrete) (source)
- 2025-12-31 — Reactor building dome hoisting completed; unit transitioned into installation phase (CNNP 2025 annual report) (source)
- 2026-04-26 — 460-tonne CB20 module hoisted into place; final large-module lift of Sanmen Phase II (source)
- 2026-06-16 — Listed as under construction in the WNA world table, grid connection estimated 2028 (source)
The milestone log is append-only: corrections are recorded as new entries, never rewrites. Full history via /api/v1/changes.
NNN coverage
On the CAP1000 design
- The 7 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-10-03
- Bailong 2 enters construction with first nuclear-island concrete 2026-09-28
- Haiyang-3 completes hot functional testing 2026-08-17
- China approves eight reactors across four nuclear projects 2026-08-03
- China General Nuclear installs reactor vessel at Lufeng unit 1 2026-07-15