China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued construction licences for Zhangzhou units 1 and 2 on 9 October 2019 to CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, the owner of the Zhangzhou nuclear power project, which was created by CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%) in 2011.
Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020. Unit 1 entered commercial operation on 1 January 2025 while unit 2 entered commercial operation on 1 January 2026.
(Image: CNNC)
The installation of the steam generators, which benefited from the construction experience gained from the first phase of the project, was said to have laid “a solid foundation for the subsequent dome hoisting and main pipeline welding”.
In September 2022, China’s State Council approved the construction of two Hualong One units as Phase II – units 3 and 4 – of the Zhangzhou plant. Construction of unit 3 began in February 2024, with that of unit 4 starting in September.
There are proposals for two more units at the plant. Once fully completed, a six-unit Zhangzhou plant would provide more than 60 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, estimated to meet 75% of the total electricity consumption of Xiamen and Zhangzhou cities in southern Fujian.
