An expert panel has given a performance appraisal to approve the Haiyang Nuclear Power Phase I Project to become the first nuclear power project in China to generate fuel for large-scale cogeneration of heat and power, Xinhua reported.  

The Haiyang NPP in east China's Shandong Province started providing heating in the 2019-2020 season when it supplied heat for 700,000 square metres of residential area for 129 days. The energy is equivalent to the consumption of 9656 tonnes of standard coal.

The expert appraisal will allow the plant to support 30 million square metres of heating area in the next heating season, according to the operator of Shandong Nuclear Power Co Ltd. The company said the nuclear power plant aims to provide more than 200 million square metres of heating in the Shandong peninsula.