Press release: Taishan Unit 1 nuclear power plant enters commercial operation

Taishan Unit 1 nuclear power plant enters commercial operation

Highly significant step forward for EPR technology being deployed at Hinkley Point C

CGN, the global clean energy company, today announced that the new Taishan Unit 1 reactor, one of two under construction in Guangdong province, China, has successfully entered into commercial operation. It is the first EPR anywhere in the world to do so.

This major development comes after announcements were made earlier in the year about fuel loading at the reactor, and the station being linked to the grid. This latest milestone is yet another vote of confidence for the EPR which will also be deployed at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

Taishan Unit 1 and Unit 2 are each 1755MW reactors, which means Unit 1 is the largest power generation unit ever to enter service. In total the two units will be capable of generating 24TWh of electricity every year, enough to meet the power consumption of 5.8 million British homes. Operation of the two units will also prevent the emission of around 21 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
The Taishan project has been taken forward as a joint venture involving CGN and EDF Group (CGN is the majority owner of the JV, and EDF owns 30%). In the same way, Hinkley Point C is being developed jointly by the two companies (66.5% EDF and 33.5% CGN). Today’s announcement is a testament also to the success of the collaboration between the two companies.

Zheng Dongshan, Chief Executive of CGN UK, said: “Today is a historic day for CGN, for EDF and for the EPR technology, as Taishan Unit 1 takes the final step along its journey to commercial operation. The success of the project shows what CGN and EDF can achieve by working collaboratively. The fact that we are able to bring expertise to this country from Taishan gives us even greater confidence in the Hinkley Point C project and the EPR reactors we are building together there.”

Simone Rossi, Chief Executive of EDF Energy, said: “This is a great step forward for the EPR and shows that the UK can have confidence in the reactor design which we are using at Hinkley Point C and planning to use at Sizewell C. It also demonstrates the value of our partnership with CGN. Hinkley is already benefiting from lessons learned at Taishan and other EPR projects. This experience will also help lower costs for Sizewell C so that nuclear remains competitive and continues to deliver jobs, skills and industrial opportunities for the UK.”

Development of the EPR at Taishan Unit 2 continues, and further announcements are expected soon. Significant progress has been made at Hinkley Point C, with collaboration between experts from CGN and EDF Group and expertise brought from Taishan Unit 1 being key factors. The project, in Somerset, recently celebrated its two-year anniversary since the start of the construction phase.

–Ends–

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Moon Ye                                                                              Gavin Devine

liang-ye@cgnpc.com.cn                                                   gavine.devine@cgnuk.co.uk

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