The 1116 MWe (net) domestically-designed pressurised water reactor “completed all commissioning works on 29 April 2026, and is qualified for commercial operation”, China General Nuclear (CGN) said in a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These included a series of commissioning tests, including a test run lasting 168 hours.
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. First concrete for San’ao 2 was poured on 30 December 2021.
Unit 1 achieved first criticality on 14 February and was connected to the electricity grid on 12 March. It has entered commercial operation five years and four months after first concrete was poured.
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 construction of two Hualong Ones as units 3 and 4 of the 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.
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(Image: CGN)
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.
“After San’ao unit 1 is put into commercial operation, the number of nuclear power generating units in operation managed by the company (including associates) will increase to 30 units and the installed capacity of nuclear power generating units in operation will also increase from 33,040 MW to 34,248 MW,” CGN noted.
