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China's first commercial nuclear district heating scheme expands

21 November 2024

China's Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province has begun its sixth heating season, covering an area of nearly 13 million square metres - 500,000 square metres more than last year.

According to State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) - parent company of Shandong Nuclear Power Company - the district heating network is expected to supply 4.6 million gigajoules of heat, which will save 410,000 tonnes of coal consumption and reduce CO2 emissions by 760,000 tonnes. It plans to be able to heat the city of Qingdao - population of more than 10 million - in 2026.

The district heating scheme at the Haiyang plant, which began as a demonstration project to show the feasibility of such a scheme, was put into operation in 2019. Each year it has been expanded, with heating capacity rising from an initial 31.5 MW to 1134 MW, and the area covered increasing 20-fold from an initial 700,000 square metres.

SPIC says "the safe and stable operation of the five heating seasons fully verified that the engineering technology is replicable, the business model is promotable, and the cost-effectiveness is sustainable. It provides a good model for large-scale cogeneration of nuclear power, and has led to the follow-up implementation at multiple nuclear power plants".

It says that over the past five winters the district heating scheme has provided 9.01 million GJ of heat, saving 810,000 tonnes of coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.49 million tonnes. It says that the air quality during winter in Haiyang "has improved significantly" and the area where the sea temperature is 2C hotter around the nuclear power plant has reduced by 41 hectares since the heating scheme's start.

Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant currently features two Westinghouse AP1000 units and SPIC says it is the world's largest such nuclear power plant cogeneration project. It says that with the commissioning of subsequent units - two CAP1000 units are currently under construction and up to four more are proposed - it is expected to provide heating for the city of Qingdao in 2026 and the long-term heating capacity will reach 200 million square metres.
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First Zhangzhou unit begins supplying power

Thursday, 28 November 2024

Unit 1 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has been connected to the grid, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced. The unit is the first of four Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors under construction at the site.



The reactor began supplying electricity to grid at 7.46am on Thursday, CNNC said, marking "major progress in the mass production of Hualong One by China National Nuclear Corporation, and makes new contributions to the optimisation of the national energy structure and the realisation of the 'dual carbon' goals".

It added: "A series of tests will be carried out as planned to further verify the performance of the unit to meet commercial operation conditions."

In May 2014, the local government gave approval for Phase I of the Zhangzhou plant, comprising two AP1000 units. The National Nuclear Safety Administration gave approval in December 2015 for the AP1000 units and confirmed site selection in October 2016. Construction of Phase I had originally been expected to start in May 2017. However, CNNC subsequently decided to use the HPR1000 (Hualong One) design instead. Two more Hualong One units are planned for Phase II of the plant and a further two proposed for Phase III.


Four units are now under construction at Zhangzhou (Image: CNNC)

Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020.

In September 2022, China's State Council approved the construction of two further Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou plant. First concrete for the nuclear island of unit 3 was poured on 22 February this year. First concrete for unit 4 was poured last month.

The Zhangzhou project - with a total investment of over CNY100 billion (USD14 billion) - is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).

CNNC said the Zhangzhou plant is the starting point for the mass construction of Hualong One reactors and "is currently the world's largest Hualong One nuclear power base". It plans to construct a total of six Hualong One nuclear units at the site. Currently, four Hualong One units are under construction there.

"At present, the total number of Hualong One units in operation and under construction at home and abroad has reached 33, making it the third-generation nuclear power technology with the largest number of units in operation and under construction in the world," CNNC noted.

Zhangzhou unit 1 enters commercial operation

Thursday, 2 January 2025

Unit 1 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province - the first of six Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors planned at the site - has been put into commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.


Zhangzhou units 1 and 2 (Image: CNNC)

At 00:17 on 1 January, the 1126 MWe (net) domestically-designed pressurised water reactor completed a series of commissioning tests, including a test run lasting 168 hours, CNNC said.

In May 2014, the local government gave approval for Phase I of the Zhangzhou plant, comprising two AP1000 units. The National Nuclear Safety Administration gave approval in December 2015 for the AP1000 units and confirmed site selection in October 2016. Construction of Phase I had originally been expected to start in May 2017. However, CNNC subsequently decided to use the HPR1000 design instead. Two more Hualong One units are planned for Phase II of the plant and a further two proposed for Phase III.

Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020.

In September 2022, China's State Council approved the construction of two further Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou plant. First concrete for the nuclear island of unit 3 was poured on 22 February last year, with that for unit 4 following in October.

The process of loading 177 fuel assemblies into the core of Zhangzhou 1 began on 12 October following the issuance of an operating licence by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The reactor achieved first criticality on 20 November and was connected to the grid on 28 November.

CNNC said the start of commercial operation of Zhangzhou 1 "marks a major progress in the mass construction of Hualong One". It plans to construct a total of six Hualong One units at the site. Currently, three further such units are under construction there.

The Zhangzhou project - with a total investment of over CNY100 billion (USD14 billion) - is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).

CNNC noted that the number of power reactors now in operation under its control has increased to 26, and the installed capacity has increased from 23.75 GWe to 24.962 GWe.

Major Chinese operators report nuclear output for 2024

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

China General Nuclear has reported a 6% increase in nuclear electricity output in 2024, compared with 2023, while China National Nuclear Corporation said its nuclear generation was 1.8% lower in 2024, a decrease mainly attributed to reactors being offline for maintenance.


Unit 4 of CGN's Fangchenggang plant entered commercial operation in 2024 (Image: CGN)

In an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China General Nuclear (CGN) said that, as of 31 December 2024, it had a total of 28 power reactors in operation with a combined generating capacity of 31,798 MWe.

Total power generation last year of reactors operated and managed by the group totalled about 242.2 TWh, a year-on-year increase of 6.08%, it said. Meanwhile, the total amount of electricity supplied to the grid was 227.3 TWh, an increase of 6.13%.

CGN said that during 2024, it completed, as scheduled, 13 annual refuelling outages (including one annual refuelling outage conducted over to the next year), five ten-year outages (including one ten-year outage conducted over to the next year) and one initial outage.

As of 31 December 2024, CGN managed a total of 16 reactors under construction (including eight units which were entrusted to the company by the controlling shareholder of the company for management), among which, two were in the commissioning phase, three were in the equipment installation phase, two were in the civil construction phase, and nine were preparing for first concrete to be poured. Unit 1 of the Huizhou/Taipingling plant in Guangdong province is expected to enter commercial operation during 2025.

Meanwhile, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) subsidiary China National Nuclear Power announced to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its nuclear power units generated a total of 183.1 TWh of electricity in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%. The amount of electricity supplied to the grid was 171.260 billion kWh, also a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%.

As of the end of December, CNNC controlled 25 power reactors in operation with an installed capacity of 23.75 GWe; controlled 18 units either under construction or approved for construction, with an installed capacity of 20.641 GWe.

In 2025, CNNC's planned nuclear power generation is 195.4 TWh. The company's controlled nuclear power units in operation are scheduled to undergo 16 maintenance and refuelling outages throughout the year (including three ten-year overhauls, two five-year overhauls and 11 routine overhauls).

While CNNC and CGN are the main nuclear operators in China, State Power Investment Corporation (via its nuclear power business State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation) and Huaneng Group are the country's third and fourth nuclear operators, respectively. Other companies - including Huadian, Datang and Guodian - own stakes in some plants.

China's total fleet of 58 operable reactors supply about 5% of the country's electricity.

First main pump installed in Chinese SMR

Thursday, 17 April 2025

The first of four main pumps has been installed at the ACP100 small modular reactor demonstration project, under construction at the Changjiang site on China's island province of Hainan, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.



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Ten new reactors approved in China

28 April 2025

China's State Council has approved five nuclear power projects - Fangchenggang Phase III, Haiyang Phase III, Sanmen Phase III, Taishan Phase II and Xiapu Phase I - with a total of 10 reactors, including eight Hualong One units.


There will be two more units at the Fangchenggang site (Image: NNSA)

The construction of the reactors was approved during a 27 April meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Qiang.

China General Nuclear (CGN) announced it has received approval for Phase II (units 3 and 4) of its Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province, as well as Phase III (units 5 and 6) at its Fangchenggang plant in China's Guangxi Autonomous Region. It said the four units will adopt its HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactor technology. Taishan 3 and 4 will each have a capacity of 1200 MWe, while Fangchenggang 5 and 6 will have a capacity of 1208 MWe.

CGN said that it is currently "carrying out various preparatory work for the construction of the above-mentioned units in an orderly manner, the full construction of which will begin when the Permit for Nuclear Power Station Construction has been obtained from the National Nuclear Safety Administration".

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said it had received approval for Phase III (units 5 and 6) at its Sanmen nuclear power plant in Zhejiang province. It plans to build two Hualong One reactors, each with a rated power of 1215 MWe.

The construction of two Hualong One units has also been approved at the Xiapu site in Fujian province as a joint project between CNNC and Huaneng Power International. Two CFR-600 sodium-cooled pool-type fast-neutron reactors are currently under construction at the Xiapu site.

The State Council also approved the construction of two CAP1000 reactors - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - as units 5 and 6 at the Haiyang site in Shandong province in a project led by State Power Investment Corporation. The site already hosts two AP1000 units, and two CAP1000 units are under construction.

According to China Daily, the ten newly approved reactor projects represent a combined investment of over CYN200 billion (USD27.4 billion).

The State Council has approved ten or more new reactors annually since 2022.

China currently has 58 operable reactors with a total capacity of 56.9 GW. A further 30 reactors, with a total capacity of 34.4 GW, are under construction, according to World Nuclear Association figures.

Construction of second Shidaowan Hualong One begins

Thursday, 8 May 2025

China Huaneng has announced the pouring of first concrete for the second Hualong One reactor of Phase I (units 1 and 2) at the Shidaowan nuclear power plant site in China's Shandong Province.

Construction of second Shidaowan Hualong One begins


(Image: China Huaneng)

The company plans to construct four Hualong One reactors, in two phases, at Shidaowan with a total installed capacity of 4.8 GWe.

China's State Council approved the construction of units 1 and 2 of the Shidaowan plant on 31 July 2023. First concrete for unit 1 was poured on 28 July 2024.
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China's largest uranium mining project enters production

15 July 2025

Exactly one year after construction began, China has produced its first barrel of natural uranium from its largest domestic project - the National Uranium No.1 demonstration project - in Ordos in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.


The National Uranium No.1 well field (Image: CNNC)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) broke ground for the project on 12 July 2024. The project integrates automation, remote centralised control and big data analysis. It uses CO2 and O2 in-situ recovery (also known as in-situ leaching), where uranium is extracted through a closed-loop circulation of the uranium solution without lifting the ores to the surface for processing - a technique said to avoid water, gas and solid wastes and minimise carbon emissions.

CNNC has now announced that the project successfully produced the first barrel of uranium products on 12 July.


(Image: CNNC)

"As the largest natural uranium production capacity project in China's nuclear and mining industry in the past 70 years, the successful production of the first barrel of uranium marks that China's uranium resource development has officially entered a new era of green, safe, intelligent and efficient," CNNC said. "After completion, it will provide a solid resource guarantee for national energy security and nuclear industry development, and will also greatly enhance the international competitiveness of China's natural uranium industry."

CNNC noted that in the past, China's uranium development was mainly concentrated in volcanic and granite uranium mines in the south. However, over the past two decades, major breakthroughs have been made in the prospecting of sandstone uranium mines in the north. In 2023, China released the top ten uranium prospecting results, predicting more than 2.8 million tonnes of uranium resources. The main uranium resources are concentrated in the sandstone uranium mines in the north, among which the Ordos Basin has become the country's largest uranium resource base.

The technology used at the National Uranium No.1 project will be "fully applied and accelerated to the development of uranium resources in China's northern basins such as Songliao, Erlian, Ordos, and Yili, supporting the construction of a number of new uranium mining bases and fully guaranteeing the demand for uranium resources for nuclear energy development," CNNC said. "In the future, the National Uranium No.1 technology will 'go abroad' and be promoted to uranium mines around the world to ensure the safe and orderly development of global nuclear power."

"This demonstration project is a major achievement in China's third-generation uranium mining and processing technology," said Yuan Xu, chairman of CNNC subsidiary China National Uranium Corporation.

The project is part of China's nuclear energy development plan, with natural uranium being the basis of the nuclear fuel cycle, and with demand forecast to increase as nuclear energy capacity expands across the world.

China currently has 58 operable reactors providing capacity of 56.93 GWe. There are a further 32 reactors under construction which will provide a further 34.2 GWe of capacity and there are dozens more at the planning or proposed stage.
According to World Nuclear Association's information paper on China's nuclear fuel cycle, China aims to produce one-third of its uranium domestically, obtain one-third through foreign equity in mines and joint ventures in other countries and to purchase one-third on the open market.

Inner Containment Dome in Place at Haiyang 4

10 Sep 2025 by world-nuclear-news

The installation of the uppermost section of the steel containment vessel has been completed at unit 4 of the Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province, China. This marks a significant milestone in the construction of the CAP1000 reactor, which is the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000.



The containment vessel is a critical component designed to prevent the release of radioactive material and support passive safety functions. It consists of six modules: the bottom head, four cylindrical rings, and the top head. On 6 September, the top head for Haiyang 4, manufactured by CNNC Equipment Corporation, was successfully lifted and placed onto the containment structure. The installation process, involving a component 40 meters in diameter, 11 meters in height, and weighing 658 tonnes, was completed in 3 hours and 22 minutes.
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Groundworks begin for second Bailong unit

Monday, 29 September 2025

Excavation work has started for the foundation of the nuclear island of the second of two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors planned as Phase I of the Bailong nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.


(Image: Guangxi Nuclear Power)

The excavation of the foundation pit for Bailong 2 began on 28 September, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) subsidiary Guangxi Nuclear Power Company Ltd announced.

The construction of Phase I (units 1 and 2) of the Bailong plant was among approvals for 11 new reactors granted by China's State Council in August last year. An investment of about CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion) is planned for the two CAP1000 units - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - which are expected to take 56 months to construct.

Excavation of about 66,000 cubic metres of earth to form the foundation pit of unit 1 - which will eventually be 12.2 metres deep and cover an area of about 3,000 square metres - began on 30 December. The excavation of the two nuclear island foundation pits utilises a "vertical slope construction technique with support first and excavation later", Guangxi Nuclear Power noted.

"Thanks to the dedicated efforts of all builders, unit 1 is steadily progressing toward achieving its high-quality FCD [first concrete pouring] goals," the company said. "During the initial phase of the excavation for unit 2, the company, in collaboration with all participating units, fully incorporated feedback from the unit excavation, systematically reviewed prerequisites, optimised construction techniques, and completed the construction of the foundation pit retaining structure cast-in-place piles and crown beams on schedule, laying a solid foundation for the smooth progress of the unit 2 nuclear island excavation."

Once Bailong units 1 and 2 are put into operation, the annual power generation of the plant will be about 20 billion kilowatt-hours, Guangxi Nuclear Power said. It noted that this can reduce the consumption of standard coal by about 6 million tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 16 million tonnes annually.

Four CAP1400 reactors are also planned to be built at the site - located about 24 kilometres from the border with Vietnam and about 30 kilometres southwest of China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang nuclear power plant - in later phases.

Cold testing of Chinese SMR completed

Thursday, 16 October 2025

Cold functional tests have been completed at the ACP100 small modular reactor demonstration project under construction at the Changjiang site on China's island province of Hainan, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.

Cold functional tests are carried out to confirm whether components and systems important to safety are properly installed and ready to operate in a cold condition. The main purpose of these tests is to verify the leak-tightness of the primary circuit and components - such as pressure vessels, pipelines and valves of both the nuclear and conventional islands - and to clean the main circulation pipes. The tests mark the first time the reactor systems are operated together with the auxiliary systems.

The cold functional tests were completed at the ACP100 - also referred to as the Linglong One - on 16 October.

"The successful cold functional test of the primary circuit of the Linglong One small reactor demonstration project demonstrates the integrity and sealing of the primary circuit pressure boundaries," CNNC said. "It also verifies the installation quality of the relevant equipment and piping, ensuring subsequent safe and stable operation." It added that completion of the tests "lays a solid foundation for the project's subsequent hot trials, reactor loading, and commercial operation".

Hot functional tests involve increasing the temperature of the reactor coolant system and carrying out comprehensive tests to ensure that coolant circuits and safety systems are operating as they should. Carried out before the loading of nuclear fuel, such testing simulates the thermal working conditions of the power plant and verifies that nuclear island and conventional equipment and systems meet design requirements.

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Comment la Chine va devenir le leader mondial du nucléaire
Soutenu par des prêts publics bonifiés et des tarifs garantis, Pékin a transformé l’atome en filière souveraine, rationalisée et moins chère.

Par Thomas Graindorge Publié le 23/10/2025 lepoint.fr



Presque autant de réacteurs en construction que le reste du monde réuni. Cela pose l'importance prise par la Chine en matière d'énergie nucléaire. Comme le souligne le New York Times, si le pays dirigé d'une main de fer par Xi Jinping continue son entreprise à un rythme aussi effréné, il devrait dépasser, en 2030, la capacité nucléaire des États-Unis.

Une performance d'autant plus impressionnante que les installations chinoises sont dérivées de modèles américains et français. « Les Chinois avancent à toute vitesse », a déclaré Mark Hibbs, chercheur principal au Carnegie Endowment for Peace et auteur d'un livre sur le programme nucléaire chinois. « Ils sont très désireux de montrer au monde que leur programme est invincible. »

Pour cela, ils ont diminué de moitié les coûts de construction du nucléaire, passés sous la barre des cinq dollars par watt, quand les États-Unis sont à plus de quinze dollars par watt. La construction des deux seuls réacteurs américains de ce siècle, à la centrale nucléaire de Vogtle à Waynesboro, en Géorgie, a duré onze ans et coûté 35 milliards de dollars.

Des investissements en toute confiance

Le gouvernement chinois soutient massivement cette politique, notamment en permettant à des développeurs nucléaires publics de bénéficier de prêts à taux réduit garantis par l'État pour construire de nouveaux réacteurs. Le gouvernement chinois exige également des opérateurs de réseau électrique qu'ils achètent une partie de l'électricité produite par les centrales nucléaires, à des tarifs avantageux.

Le mandat national de développer l'énergie nucléaire signifie que les entreprises peuvent investir en toute confiance dans des usines nationales et une main-d'œuvre d'ingénierie dédiée. À l'inverse, en Occident, la construction nucléaire a été ralentie, notamment aux États-Unis, par l'augmentation des taux d'intérêt et le renforcement des règles de sécurité par les autorités de régulation.

Parallèlement, les promoteurs privés ont expérimenté de nouveaux modèles de réacteurs nécessitant des composants différents et ont introduit de nouvelles complications. Le contraste est devenu flagrant à la fin des années 2000, lorsque les compagnies d'électricité américaines ont tenté de relancer l'énergie nucléaire avec un nouveau modèle de réacteur, l'AP1000, doté de caractéristiques de sécurité améliorées. Les développeurs ont rencontré des difficultés avec cette nouvelle technologie.

« Ce que les Chinois ont fait était vraiment intelligent »

La Chine a construit des AP1000 au même moment. Mais au lieu d'abandonner, les responsables chinois ont analysé les problèmes et ont conclu qu'il était nécessaire d'ajuster la conception et de développer des chaînes d'approvisionnement nationales.

« Ce que les Chinois ont fait était vraiment intelligent », a déclaré James Krellenstein, directeur général d'Alva Energy, cabinet de conseil en nucléaire. « Ils ont décidé de marquer une pause de quelques années et d'en tirer les leçons. » La Chine construit actuellement neuf autres exemplaires de ce réacteur, connu sous le nom de CAP1000, tous en voie d'être achevés d'ici à cinq ans – et pour un coût minimal.

Le programme nucléaire accéléré de la Chine est le prélude à un objectif plus vaste : dominer le marché mondial. Les entreprises chinoises ont déjà construit six réacteurs au Pakistan. Parallèlement, la Chine s'efforce de surpasser les États-Unis en matière d'innovation technologique. Elle a construit le premier réacteur de « quatrième génération » au monde, un modèle refroidi au gaz capable de fournir chaleur et vapeur à l'industrie lourde en plus de l'électricité.

Chinese reactor connected to the grid

24 November 2025

Unit 2 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant has begun supplying electricity to the grid, China National Nuclear Corporation announced. The unit is the second of six Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors planned at the site in China's Fujian province.


(Image: CNNC)

"At 9.32am on 22 November, the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 ... successfully connected to the grid for the first time, officially transmitting its first kilowatt-hour of electricity," China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said. "With this, both units of the first phase of the Hualong One mass production project are now connected to the grid, making a new contribution to optimising the national energy structure and achieving the 'dual-carbon' goal."

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 unit 1 began one week after the issuance of the construction licence, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020. Zhangzhou 1 entered commercial operation on 1 January this year.

The loading of nuclear fuel into Zhangzhou 2 began on 11 October and the reactor achieved its first criticality on 3 November.


Zhangzhou units 1 and 2 (Image: CNNC)

"Following its initial grid connection, on-site confirmation indicates that the unit is in good condition, and all technical indicators meet design standards," CNNC said. "Subsequently, a series of planned tests will be conducted to further verify the unit's performance and ensure it meets commercial operation requirements."

The Zhangzhou site will eventually house six Hualong One units.

"To-date, unit 1 of the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant has safely and stably generated over 8.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. Unit 2 is expected to commence commercial operation within the year, while units 3 and 4 are in the civil engineering and installation phase. Preliminary work on Units 5 and 6 is progressing steadily," CNNC noted.

"Once fully completed, the base is expected to provide over 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, effectively improving Fujian Province's 'north-to-south power transmission' power structure."

Rongcheng has become the third city in China's Shandong Province to receive district heating from the Haiyang nuclear power plant, State Power Investment Corporation announced.


(Image: SPIC)

The so-called Warm Core No 1 district heating project officially began supplying heat to the urban area of ​​Rongcheng on 15 November, SPIC said. The cities of Haiyang and Rushan have already been receiving heat.

The Haiyang plant officially started providing district heat to the surrounding area in November 2020. A trial of the project - the country's first commercial nuclear heating project - was carried out the previous winter, providing heat to 700,000 square metres of housing, including the plant's dormitory and some local residents. Earlier in 2020, the project began providing heating to the entire Haiyang city. The city of Ruchan began receiving district heating from the plant in 2021.

The project uses domestically mature steam extraction heating technology and innovatively applies 'dual-unit series large temperature difference' heating technology, SPIC said. "This allows for two units to be connected in series to sequentially heat the circulating water in the heating network, significantly increasing heating capacity. Alternatively, a single unit can provide heating independently, flexibly adjusting heating capacity according to demand and improving the reliability of the heating system. Nuclear heating is both an innovative nuclear energy project and a project that improves people's well-being."

SPIC said the project is expected to reduce coal consumption by about 120,000 tonnes annually, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 360,000 tonnes, nitrogen oxide emissions by 2,066 tonnes, sulphur dioxide by 2,173 tonnes, and soot by 1,258 tonnes.

The Haiyang nuclear power plant is home to two AP1000 pressurised water reactors which entered commercial operation in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors are now under construction at the site with grid connection pencilled in for 2027.

Russia, several East European countries, Switzerland and Sweden have all had nuclear-fuelled district heating schemes, and heat from nuclear power plants has also been sent to industrial sites in several countries.

China begins construction of two new nuclear power units

Monday, 5 January 2026

First concrete has been poured for the nuclear islands of unit 1 of the Bailong nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and of unit 2 at the Lufeng plant in Guangdong province, marking the official start of construction of the two CAP1000 reactors.



The construction of Phase I (units 1 and 2) of the Bailong plant was among approvals for 11 new reactors granted by China's State Council in August 2024. State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) plans to build two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - as the first phase of the plant. An investment of about CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion) is planned for the two units, which are expected to take 56 months to construct. Excavation of about 66,000 cubic metres of earth to form the foundation pit - which will eventually be 12.2 metres deep and cover an area of about 3000 square metres - began in late December 2024.

SPIC subsidiary Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute (SNERDI) - joint general contractor for the project - announced it poured the first concrete on 22 December for the basemat of the nuclear island at Bailong unit 1. The company said a total of a 6,662 cubic metres of concrete was poured in a process lasting just over 64 hours.


(Image: SNERDI)

Located on Jiangshan Peninsula in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Province, the Bailong plant is planned to have six units, with a total installed capacity of 8.62 GWe and a total investment of approximately CNY120 billion. The first phase of the project adopts the CAP1000 design, with each unit having a capacity of 1.25 million kilowatts. Four CAP1400 reactors are also proposed to be built at the site - located about 24 kilometres from the border with Vietnam and about 30 kilometres southwest of China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang nuclear power plant - in later phases.
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