Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Lianyungang city of East China's Jiangsu Province Photo: VCG

With the ambitious goal of building an important nuclear power base along China's east coast, Shandong Province is expediting construction of several nuclear power plant projects including China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN)'s Hualong One Shandong project which has entered preliminary testing, media reported on Thursday.

Yantai city in Shandong Province, has ramped up efforts to build a 100-billion-yuan-class ($14.2-billion-class) nuclear power equipment industry there, business news website jiemian.com reported.

According to the report, projects under the plan include the Haiyang Nuclear Power Station, the Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Station, CGN's Hualong One Shandong project and the China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC's) offshore floating reactor project.

According to Jiemian, CGN's Hualong One is undergoing preliminary work and, after its completion, it will be able to meet the demands of industrial and urban heat, and sea water desalination projects there.

The Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant, which was the first nuclear power project in Shandong, has been completed and was put into use in 2018. It has generated 20 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, according to the report.

The Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Rongcheng, in eastern Shandong, is scheduled for completion in 2020, and the CNNC's offshore floating reactor project is also undergoing preparation work.

Luan Jian, the head of the Energy Administration of Shandong Province, said in a seminar that the nuclear energy industry in Shandong has entered a golden era.

"The next step will focus on research and development of key nuclear technologies such as Generation III and IV nuclear power technologies, fast reactors and modular small reactors," he said.

As of June this year, 47 nuclear power units are in operation in China, with a total installed capacity of 4,773 kilowatts, ranking third in the world. Of them, 11 nuclear power units are now under construction, with a total installed capacity of 1,208 kilowatts, ranking first in the world.