3rd-gen Nuclear Power unit starts in Liaoning as China accelerates carbon reduction

With the successful connection to the grid, the No. 5 unit of the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant started operating last Friday in Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, adding to China’s third-generation nuclear power industry, which has been on a fast track to achieve a carbon emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, analysts said.

“China is taking the global lead in the development of third-generation nuclear power while also continuously improving safety standards. The company leads other leading players such as the US and France in terms of independent technology and installed capacity,” Han Xiaoping, chief analyst at energy industry website china5e.com, told the Global Times on Friday.

According to Han, the third-generation of nuclear power generator, which China is now building in large scale across the country, represents the world’s most advanced standards in terms of safety and the future of the global power industry. 

The technology is also generations ahead of the Fukushima nuclear power stations. With the nuclear power unit equipped with several major passive emergency cooling water source systems, the safety level has been further improved.

As the first nuclear power plant and the largest energy investment project in Northeast China, by the end of 2020, Hongyanhe Nuclear Power has accumulated 157.2 billion kWh of clean energy electricity, which is equivalent to a reduction of 48.03 million tons of standard coal consumption.

China’s installed nuclear power capacity is 49.89 million kilowatts, up 2.4 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in February.

“No other country in the world could rival China in terms of the cost of building plants and the sheer size of the market,” Han said, adding that such edge has also helped China’s homegrown Hualong One third-generation nuclear technology gain foothold overseas.