Unit 2 of China’s Fangchenggang NPP in Guangxi province started supplying electricity to the grid on 15 July, according to China General Nuclear (CGN).
A total of six large pressurized water reactors are planned for the site. Units 1 and 2 are CPR-1000s, units 3 and 4 will feature Hualong One reactors, and units 5 and 6 will be AP1000s. Construction of units 1 and 2 began in July and December 2010. Unit 1 was connected to the grid last October and entered commercial operation in January. The loading of fuel assemblies into the core of unit 2 was completed in May and the reactor achieved first criticality on 28 June.
CGN said Fangchenggang 2 will now undergo a load test run and other relevant testing before entering full-power demonstration operation. It is scheduled to enter commercial operation by the end of this year. Phase I of the Fangchenggang plant - units 1 and 2 - was built with a localization rate of more than 80%, CGN said.
Construction of Fangchenggang 3 began in December 2015, while construction of unit 4 is scheduled to begin later this year. These two units are expected to start up in 2019 and 2020. The plant is 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% owned by CGN, which now has 17 reactors in operation with a combined generating capacity of 18.17GWe and a further eight units under construction.
