At 11:18 on April 29, 2026, with the successful completion of the 168-hour trial operation test, Unit 1 of CGN's Zhejiang San'ao Nuclear Power Project — the first Hualong One nuclear power unit in the Yangtze River Delta region and China's first nuclear power project with private sector capital participation — officially achieved commercial operation status. With the commissioning of this unit, CGN now has 30 nuclear power units in operation, with a total installed capacity of 34,248 MWe.

Zhang Zhenfeng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and Secretary of the Wenzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, attended the commissioning ceremony and announced the official commissioning of San'ao Nuclear Power Unit 1. Feng Jianping, Secretary of the Party Branch Committee and Director General of the East China Regional Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspection; Zhang Benfeng, Secretary of the Cangnan County Committee of the Communist Party of China; Pang Songtao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of China General Nuclear Power Group; Du Yanhui, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.; along with representatives from State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd., Cangnan Nuclear Power shareholders, and project construction participants, attended the commissioning ceremony and witnessed this important milestone together.

On behalf of the nuclear safety regulatory authority, Feng Jianping acknowledged the project's achievements and extended congratulations on the successful commissioning of San'ao Nuclear Power Project Unit 1. He noted that the successful commissioning of Unit 1 is a vivid demonstration of China's nuclear safety strategy, strong evidence of the maturity and reliability of the Hualong One technology, and a remarkable outcome of collaborative efforts between the government and enterprises to ensure safety. He expressed the hope that CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power will always keep in mind that "nuclear safety is above all else," take the start of commercial operation as a new starting point, strictly fulfill its primary responsibility for nuclear safety, continuously improve its safety management system, strengthen personnel training and feedback from experience, and ensure the long-term safe and stable operation of the unit with the highest standards and most stringent requirements. 

On behalf of CGN, Pang Songtao extended sincere gratitude to the Party committees, governments, regulatory authorities, partners, and people from all walks of life at various levels who have long cared for, supported, and guided the development of CGN and the construction of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project. He stated that the commissioning of Unit 1 of the San'ao Project is not only an important milestone in the batch construction of Hualong One units but also a significant moment in the optimization and upgrading of Zhejiang's energy structure. He emphasized that the San'ao operation and maintenance team must always put nuclear safety first, strictly implement the principles of "absolute responsibility, highest standards, system operation, and experience feedback" to ensure the long-term safe and stable operation of the unit; further promote lean management, proactively adapt to market changes, seize market opportunities, and generate better economic returns; and on the basis of consolidating the achievements of Unit 1, draw on the experience of previous projects, balance operational safety with construction quality, and strive to make San'ao a dual benchmark for both the construction and operation of Hualong One units.

▲ CGN's Zhejiang San'ao Nuclear Power Project

Since the start of construction of Unit 1 on December 31, 2020, CGN has been driven by independent innovation. In areas of the industrial chain including equipment manufacturing, maintenance services, engineering construction, general material supply, and logistics support, it has collaborated with approximately 2,000 private enterprises, engaging them in construction and cooperation and sharing the benefits generated by this major project. At the same time, it has achieved multiple breakthroughs in core technology self-reliance, intelligent engineering construction, and investment and financing model innovation, fully demonstrating the competitiveness of China's entire nuclear power industry chain. To date, the first phase of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project has compiled a total of 13,926 items of feedback from experience and completed over 260 design optimizations and improvements, including cold source enhancements, outage backup power supply retrofits, and 5G private network construction. Furthermore, 24 major core components have been localized for the first time, including the in-core instrumentation system, main steam release regulation valve, hydraulic coupling of the electric main feedwater pump (APA) unit, and nuclear-grade pressure/temperature switches.

▲ Phase I of CGN's Zhejiang San'ao Nuclear Power Project 

As one of the national computing hub nodes under the "East Data, West Computing" initiative, the Yangtze River Delta region has the strongest computing power demand and the most complete industrial supporting facilities in China, and has an urgent and sustained need for stable, clean, and efficient baseload electricity. Du Yanhui stated that the commissioning of Unit 1 of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project comes at a critical time when China is accelerating the building of an energy powerhouse. The project will strictly implement the nuclear safety requirements of "absolute responsibility, highest standards, systematic implementation, and feedback from experience," deeply practice the work ethic of "the rigorous and meticulous work style," and carry out all activities in a solid manner to ensure that the unit achieves high-level safe, stable, and economic operation after commissioning, establishing a dual benchmark for both the construction and operation of Hualong One units. By providing ample green baseload electricity, the project will provide a solid guarantee for the computing hub, intelligent economy, and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta region, and support the strategic requirement of "promoting coordinated deployment of green electricity and computing power" as outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan.

The San'ao Nuclear Power Project is planned to consist of 6 Hualong One nuclear power units, to be constructed in three phases. To date, 4 units have been approved, and overall construction is progressing steadily as planned. Once all 6 units are fully completed, the annual power generation capacity is expected to exceed 54 billion kWh, which would be close to 80% of Wenzhou City's total annual electricity consumption. This would reduce standard coal consumption by more than 16.35 million tonnes per year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 50 million tonnes per year. By providing ample green baseload electricity, the project will offer a solid guarantee for the computing hub, intelligent economy, and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta region, and support the strategic requirement of "promoting coordinated deployment of green electricity and computing power" as outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan.