China begins construction of two more Hualong One nuclear units

China has officially begun construction of two more nuclear reactors. One will be built at the Ningde power plant and the other at the Shidaowan power plant. Both new units will use the country’s homegrown Hualong One nuclear technology, with an installed capacity of 1150 MW. The new reactors are expected to enter commercial operation in 2029 and help the country generate emissions-free electricity.

Two Chinese companies, China General Nuclear and China Huaneng, announced at the end of July that they had begun work on new nuclear units. The first concrete was poured on 28 July at the construction sites for Unit 5 of the Ningde power plant and Unit 1 of the Shidaowan power plant. Chinese officials approved construction of both Hualong One units, each alongside another sister unit at its respective plant, last July.

“Construction of Units 5 and 6 in Phase Two of the Ningde nuclear power plant project will further increase the share of clean energy in Fujian Province. It will also further support the province’s high-quality economic and social development,” said Tian Huiyu, general manager of Fujian Ningde Nuclear Power Company Limited.

The Ningde power plant was the first nuclear power plant to enter operation in Fujian Province in southeastern China. The country currently operates four CPR-1000 reactors there, commissioned between 2013 and 2016, each with an output of 1018 MWe. The plant’s second phase, now under way, comprises two Hualong One units with a capacity of 1150 MW.

Combined with a Generation IV reactor

At the Shidaowan power plant, China Huaneng has operated since 2023 a 210 MW helium-cooled HTR-PM demonstration unit. The unit, classified as a Generation IV nuclear reactor, will now be joined by a pair of conventional pressurised water reactors. According to the plan for the first phase, they are due to enter commercial operation in 2029. In a further phase, the operator plans to add another pair of Hualong One units, bringing the plant’s installed capacity to as much as 5 GW.

“Once the project is complete, the power plant will provide Shandong Province with around 20 TWh of clean electricity a year. This will avoid burning 5.78 million tonnes of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 14 million tonnes. It will also cut sulphur dioxide emissions by 45,000 tonnes and nitrogen oxide emissions by 40,000 tonnes,” China Huaneng said of the benefits of the Shidaowan power plant.