First Chinese Hualong‑One Reactor Connected to the Grid

WNISR, 29 November 2020

The Fuqing-5 reactor, located in Fujian province in south east China, was connected to the grid on 27 November 2020, according to plant owner the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Construction began on 7 May 2015. It is the first Hualong One (HPR-1000) reactor to begin operation, with the design derived mainly from the 900 MWe reactors that China imported from France in the 1980s (Daya Bay) and 1990s (Ling Ao). Fuqing-6, also a Hualong One design, is scheduled to begin operations in 2021.

Grid connection of Fuqing-5 brings to 49 the number of commercial reactors operating in China. Seven of the 15 reactors remaining under construction in China at present are Hualong One design, following the construction start of Taipingling–2 on 15 October 2020. Chinese projects still represent close to a third of the 49 units of all designs currently under construction worldwide.