First unit at San'ao plant starts up

"At 12.21pm [local time] on 13 February, the first criticality control point of unit 1 of the San'ao nuclear power plant was officially released, and the unit began the reactor criticality operation phase," China General Nuclear (CGN) said. "At 3.08 am on 14 February, the reactor of unit 1 of the San'ao nuclear power plant reached criticality for the first time, marking the official entry of the unit into power operation mode and taking a key step towards grid connection and power generation."

In September 2020, the executive meeting of China's State Council approved the construction of units 1 and 2 as the first phase of the San'ao plant. The NNSA issued a construction permit for the two units on 30 December that year and first concrete for unit 1 was poured the following day. The first concrete for San'ao 2 was poured on 30 December 2021. San'ao 1 and 2 are scheduled to begin supplying electricity in 2026 and 2027, respectively. 

The San'ao plant is the first nuclear power project in China's Yangtze River Delta region to adopt the Hualong One reactor design. A total of six Hualong One units are planned for the San'ao site.

Upon completion, the project will provide over 54 TWh of electricity annually to Zhejiang Province and the Yangtze River Delta region, reducing standard coal consumption by over 16 million tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by over 51 million tonnes annually, CGN noted.

The San'ao project marks the first Chinese nuclear power project involving private capital, with Geely Technology Group taking a 2% stake in the plant. CGN holds 46% of the shares of the project company Cangnan Nuclear Power, with other state-owned enterprises holding the remainder.