Taipingling plant boosts power output

Unit 2 of the Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant in South China's Guangdong province officially began generating electricity on Monday, marking the full completion and operation of Phase I of the first "Hualong One" third-generation nuclear power project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Operated by China General Nuclear Power Group, the milestone signals a major step forward for the region's green energy transition, delivering stable, low-carbon baseload power to the country's southern economic powerhouse.

Based on the average utilization hours of domestic nuclear power plants in 2025, the two units of Phase I are projected to generate more than 18 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, said CGN.

This massive output is sufficient to meet the annual production and living electricity demands of nearly 2 million people, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 16.63 million metric tons each year, delivering substantial environmental benefits, it said.

The announcement came after China greenlit 8 new nuclear reactors last week, accelerating its atomic energy expansion and cementing its dominance in the global push for next-generation clean energy.

Six of the new reactors will employ the domestically designed Hualong One, China's third-generation nuclear power technology with full intellectual property rights. It is also one of the most widely accepted series of third-generation nuclear power reactors in the world.

As the inaugural batch of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, these projects set a definitive tone for China's energy blueprint during the most critical window for its climate commitments, said Li Jinkai, a distinguished professor at the School of Economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

China's nuclear power construction has entered a stage of large-scale, batched and normalized development, he said.

Located in Huizhou, the Taipingling project received official national approval in April 2019, with construction of Unit 2 breaking ground in October 2020.

A single Hualong One unit generates nearly 10 billion kWh of electricity annually, saving over 3 million tons of standard coal. Furthermore, its research and construction have integrated a complete supply chain of nearly 6,000 upstream and downstream enterprises, effectively steering the upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, according to CGN.

According to the National Energy Administration, the country's nuclear power generation reached approximately 467 billion kWh in 2025, while completed investment in nuclear power engineering hit a record 161 billion yuan ($23.84 billion) last year, with five approved projects featuring private capital participation.

Private companies are also becoming a vital force in energy technology innovation. In 2025, all 10 approved nuclear power units introduced private capital, with private shareholding reaching up to 20 percent.

According to the 15th five-year plan for new power system construction, jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the NEA, China will vastly expand its clean energy capacity across a diverse portfolio by 2030, including nuclear power.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn