First Hualong One Phase in Greater Bay Area Fully Operational as Second Unit Comes Online

According to China Global Television Network, Unit 2 of the Taipingling Nuclear Power Station developed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation entered commercial generation at 11:18 on 3 August, marking the full completion and commissioning of the first phase of the Greater Bay Area’s flagship Hualong One indigenous third-generation nuclear power complex.

Located in Huidong County, Huizhou City in Guangdong Province, the Taipingling Nuclear Power Station is planned to house six Hualong One pressurised water reactor units, all built with fully domestic proprietary nuclear technology that meets global top-tier safety standards. 

National authorities granted official approval for the project’s first phase on 8 April 2019, while construction work on Unit 2 broke ground on 15 October 2020. Construction teams drew on accumulated operational and building experience from earlier Hualong One facilities, completing core milestones sequentially including nuclear island civil construction, equipment installation and commissioning, nuclear fuel loading, initial reactor criticality and grid connection. Steady progress has been maintained across construction safety, engineering quality and delivery efficiency throughout the whole build cycle.

The formal commercial launch of Unit 2 brings both reactors of the first phase into stable grid supply. Calculated against average annual operating hours for domestic nuclear stations recorded in 2025, the two units together generate over 18 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year. 

This output meets combined industrial and residential power demand for nearly two million local residents across the surrounding Greater Bay Area territories. Annual carbon dioxide emissions cutbacks reach approximately 16.63 million tonnes through low-carbon nuclear power generation, reinforcing the region’s stable supply of zero-carbon baseload power.

The full six-unit layout of Taipingling Nuclear Power Station will deliver around 55 billion kilowatt-hours of clean power annually once all construction phases are finished. 

Site development teams will advance civil engineering and equipment installation for the subsequent Hualong One units in successive phases. Additional supporting power transmission infrastructure will be rolled out to streamline power delivery from the nuclear complex to regional power grids, balancing energy supply and demand across the Pearl River Delta industrial belt. Domestic manufacturers will continue to upgrade core nuclear equipment supply chains to sustain batch construction of Hualong One projects nationwide.