Unit 1 of China’s Zhangzhou NPP in Fujian province has been connected to the grid, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). “A series of tests will be carried out as planned to further verify the performance of the unit to meet commercial operation conditions,” CNNC noted. In October, the Ministry of Ecology & Environment issued an operation licence for unit 1 after which Zhangzhou Nuclear Power began to load the 177 fuel assemblies, marking the start of commissioning.
The plant will eventually house six Hualong One reactors. Two units are already under construction at the site (1&2) as phase one of the project. China’s Ministry of Ecology & Environment issued construction licences for Zhangzhou 1&2 in 2019 to CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, the owner of the Zhangzhou NPP, which was established in 2011. The Zhangzhou project, with a total investment of over CNY100bn ($14bn), is owned by CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%). The construction licences are valid for 10 years.
Units 1&2, which began construction in 2019 and 2020, are scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2024 and 2025. First concrete was poured for unit 3 in February – the first of two Hualong One units planned as the second phase of the plant. In September, first concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Zhangzhou unit 4. Two more Hualong One units are planned for the third phase.
In 2014, the local government approved Zhangzhou phase one, which was then expected to comprise two Westinghouse AP1000 units. Construction had originally been expected to start in 2017. However, CNNC subsequently decided to use the HPR1000 (Hualong One) Chinese design instead.
The Zhangzhou project – with a total investment of over CNY100bn ($14bn) – is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).
“At present, the total number of Hualong One units in operation and under construction at home and abroad has reached 33, making it the third-generation nuclear power technology with the largest number of units in operation and under construction in the world,” CNNC noted.
