Unit 6 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power station, the first NPP to be built in northeast China, is now fully operational, according to China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN).
The power station in Liaoning Province has a total installed capacity of over 6,710 MWe, making it the largest operating NPP in China.
Construction of the NPP began in August 2007. The first phase comprised four CPR-1000 pressurised water reactors (units 1-4), which were in operation by 2016. The construction of two more units began in 2015. Hongyanhe Phase II, units 5&6, comprises two 1080 MWe CGN-designed ACPR-1000 reactors. Construction of unit 5 began in March 2015 and unit 6 the following July. Unit 5 began commercial operation in July 2021.
Hongyanhe NPP is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation, each holding a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10%.
The Hongyanhe plant is also expected to provide district heating. In March, the Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company signed a cooperation agreement with China's State Power Investment Northeast Electric Power Company for the construction, operation and maintenance of a key nuclear heating demonstration project based at the plant. The project is expected to provide heating to an area of 242,400 square metres in the town of Hongyanhe this winter.
