First San’ao unit connected to the grid

“At 17:28 on 12 March, the first Hualong One nuclear power unit in the Yangtze River Delta region – unit 1 of the CGN Zhejiang San’ao Nuclear Power Project – successfully connected to the grid for the first time and generated its first kilowatt-hour of electricity,” China General Nuclear said. “This marks a crucial step towards the unit’s goal of officially putting it into operation.”

It added: “Following grid connection and on-site confirmation, the unit is operating well, and all technical indicators meet design expectations. Next, the unit will enter the load trial operation phase, conducting planned power increase and performance tests, and is expected to officially commence power generation in the first half of 2026.”

_{(Image: CGN)}

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 National Nuclear Safety Administration 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. Unit 1 achieved first criticality last month, 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.

_{The San’ao site (Image: CGN)}

The construction of two Hualong Ones as units 3 and 4 of the San’ao plant was among plans for 11 reactors approved by China’s State Council in August 2024. The first concrete was poured for the nuclear island of unit 3 on 19 December last year.

Upon completion, the project will provide more than 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.