(Yicai) April 21 — China General Nuclear Power, a state-owned atomic and clean energy developer, has put the first Hualong One nuclear power unit in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into operation.
Unit 1 of the Taipingling nuclear power project in Huizhou has been connected to the grid, CGN announced late yesterday. It can generate more than nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to meet the power demand of a city of over one million residents in the GBA, it added.
The nuclear power unit, built by CGN Huizhou Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of CGN, completed all commissioning work and met the conditions for commercial operation on April 19, the Shenzhen-based parent firm noted.
Unit 1 has finished all performance tests and passed the 168-hour full-power continuous operation assessment, Zhang Guoqiang, chairman of CGN Huizhou, told Yicai. All parameters are normal and stable, with the unit in good condition, Zhang said.
The Greater Bay Area is one of China’s most economically vibrant regions, with an urgent and sustained demand for a stable, clean, and efficient energy supply.
CGN plans for six Hualong One units at the Taipingling project. When fully operational, the total annual power output will likely exceed 55 billion kWh, equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by about 16.7 million tons and carbon dioxide emissions by about 50.8 million tons a year.
The Taipingling project will be built in three phases. Unit 2 of the first phase and Unit 3 of the second are under construction, while the other units are still in the preliminary preparation stage.
With the launch of Taipingling Unit 1, CGN now has 29 nuclear power units in operation with a total installed capacity of 33.04 gigawatts. In addition, it has 19 units under construction with an installed capacity of 23.02 GW, with all but two adopting the Hualong One technology, China’s domestically developed third-generation nuclear reactor design.
The number and installed capacity of operating nuclear power units in China are steadily increasing, with the number of those in operation, under construction, and approved reaching 112, while their combined installed capacity topped 125 GW. The number of operating units is expected to rise to 70 by the end of this year.
Shares of CGN [SHE: 003816] jumped 1.6 percent to CNY4.56 (67 US cents) each as of 11.10 a.m. in Shenzhen today.
Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev