The first Hualong One nuclear project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Unit 1 of China General Nuclear Power Group's (CGN) Taipingling nuclear power project in Huizhou, South China's Guangdong Province, enters operation on April 20, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of CGN

The first Hualong One nuclear project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Unit 1 of China General Nuclear Power Group's (CGN) Taipingling nuclear power project in Huizhou, South China's Guangdong Province, was officially put into commercial operation on Monday, the Global Times learned from CGN on Monday.

Capable of generating more than 9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, it can cover the annual power consumption of millions of residents across the GBA.

"Unit 1 of the project has completed all performance tests and a 168-hour continuous full-load operation assessment, and currently all parameters are normal and stable, with the unit in good condition," said Zhang Guoqiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairperson of CGN Huizhou Nuclear Power Co.

Drawing on experience from earlier projects, there have been 26 major design upgrades to Unit 1, and more than 8,300 practical improvements have been adopted, according to Zhang.

The unit has achieved key technological breakthroughs through independent innovation. This included the use of a digital handover 3.0 system for the first time, which allowed the physical plant and digital power station to be completed and delivered together, greatly improving smart nuclear power management.

The GBA is one of China's most dynamic and open economic regions. "The commissioning of this unit comes at an ideal time, providing stable base-load power to support high-quality development across the GBA," said Wang Wei, dean of the Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Technology at Sun Yat-sen University.

Plans for the full Taipingling project call for six Hualong One units to be built in three phases. Upon completion, annual power output will exceed 55 billion kilowatt-hours, saving 16.65 million tons of standard coal and eliminating 50.82 million tons of carbon emissions yearly. 

Follow-up construction work is progressing steadily. Unit 2 of Phase I will carry out its first nuclear fuel loading operation in the near future. For Unit 3 of Phase II, construction of the main building is underway. Preparatory work for Phase III is being actively carried out.

With the commissioning of Unit 1 at the Taipingling Nuclear Power Project, CGN now operates 29 nuclear power units with a total installed capacity of 33.04 million kilowatts. It also has 19 units under construction, amounting to an installed capacity of 23.02 million kilowatts, of which 17 units adopt the third-generation Hualong One nuclear power technology.

Global Times