At 20:29 on April 9, 2024, Unit 4 of China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN)'s Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant in Guangxi successfully connected to the grid for the first time, indicating that the unit has the capacity to generate electricity and marking a key step toward commercial operation.

During the grid-connected process, the parameters of Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 were stable and normal, and the unit was in good condition. A series of tests will be carried out as planned to further verify the performance of the unit under commercial operation conditions. It is expected to be put into operation with high quality in the first half of this year.

As the first nuclear power plant in western China and the ethnic minorities areas, the two units of Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant Phase I were put into commercial operation in 2016; the units 3 and 4 of Phase II are "Hualong One" demonstration projects, among which the No. 3 unit of Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant, the first "Hualong One" in western China, was put into operation on March 25, 2023, and has been operating safely and reliably in the first cycle. In 2023, its capacity factor reached 98.2%, setting a record for the best Gen III reactor in China.

It is reported that the cumulative on-grid electricity of the three operating units of Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Station has exceeded 120 billion kilowatt-hours. Compared with coal-fired power stations of the same size, the equivalent reduction in standard coal consumption exceeds 36.24 million tons, and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by about 98.88 million tons, equivalent to planting 270,000 hectares of forest is of great significance to implementing the national "double carbon" strategy, building a new energy system, optimizing Guangxi's energy structure, and helping Guangxi's high-quality economic and social development. (Cui Xia Tao Jiashu)

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