China equals France in number of nuclear reactors in operation
Unit 4 of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant located in Guangxi, southern China, began commercial operation last May. This brings the number of operating reactors to 56 - the same number as France, which is the second country after the United States (94) with the largest number of operating nuclear units.
According to China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN), the 1,000 MW unit reached first criticality last month and completed a 168-hour test on May 25. Fangchenggang-4 features a domestically developed HPR1000, (or Hualong One) pressurized water reactor. Its construction began in December 2016 and it is the second Hualong One at this site, the first being its sister unit Fangchenggang-3.
Fangchenggang-4 has a domestically developed HPR1000 (or Hualong One) pressurized water reactor
China now has four Hualong One units in commercial operation: two at China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC) Fuqing nuclear power plant in Fujian province and two at Fangchenggang.
China has nine other units under construction at four sites with this type of reactor: three at Zhangzhou, two at Changjiang, two at Taipingling and two at Sanaocun.
According to data extracted from the IAEA, 25 of the 59 nuclear units currently under construction in the world, are in China.
25 of the 59 nuclear units currently under construction in the world are in China
How did nuclear development begin in China?
China's first nuclear reactor, Qinsha unit 1 - with an output of 326 MW, or 32.6% of the power of Fangchenggang-4 - began commercial operation in 1991. However, the country's strongest commitment to nuclear energy took place in the early 2000s, increasing in the middle of the last decade and tripling its installed nuclear power in the last 10 years. Today, 5% of China's electricity comes from nuclear power.
China began its commitment to nuclear power in the early 2000s
France's first nuclear power plant was the G-2 (MARCOULE), built in 1959 and now permanently shut down. With a GCR type reactor, it had an output of 39 MW, i.e. 2.6% of that of the most recent reactor, Civaux-1 (PWR), operational since 1997 and with an output of 1495 MW. In 2024 France celebrated 65 years of nuclear power generation, which currently provides nearly 65% of the country's electricity.
