Second Ling Ao II unit enters service

Monday, 8 August 2011 The second unit at China's Ling Ao II nuclear power plant entered commercial operation on 7 August, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC) announced. The 1080 MWe Chinese-designed CPR-1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR) achieved first criticality on 25 February and was connected to the grid on 3 May. CGNPC said that the unit entered into commercial operation following 168 hours of successful test operation. It becomes China's 14th operating nuclear power reactor. The unit is the second CPR-1000 to start up, following its sister plant Ling Ao II unit 1, which entered commercial operation in September 2010. The CPR-1000 design, along with Westinghouse's AP1000, is a mainstay of China's planned near-term nuclear capacity expansion, with 17 CPR-1000s already under construction. Work is planned to begin on at least five more during 2011.