China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., Ltd. (CGN) issued a report on the operating status of Taishan Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 on its official website on July 30.
The notification stated that as the world’s first EPR reactor project, Taishan Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2 have maintained safe and stable operations since they were put into operation, and all operating indicators have met the requirements of nuclear safety regulations and power plant technical specifications. Nuclear safety and environmental safety are guaranteed.
At present, a small amount of fuel damage has occurred during the operation of Taishan Nuclear Power Unit 1, but it is still within the allowable range of technical specifications, and the unit can continue to operate stably. Considering that Unit 1 is the world’s first EPR reactor, it has just been put into operation. After full communication between Chinese and French technical personnel, Taishan Nuclear Power Plant insists on safety first and conservative decision-making in accordance with nuclear safety regulations and nuclear power plant operating procedures. The unit will be shut down for maintenance, find the cause of fuel damage, and replace the damaged fuel.
China’s Guangdong Nuclear Power said that in conjunction with the start of construction of the power grid to avoid the demand for construction lines in the western Guangdong switchyard, it chose this time to shut down the reactor for maintenance. At present, the unit is being evacuated to a shutdown state in accordance with the operating regulations, and the reactor is safe and controllable. Relevant procedures are followed.
Taishan Nuclear Power Plant is located in Chixi Town, Taishan City, Guangdong Province, with a unit capacity of 1.75 million kilowatts. Commercial operation of Taishan Nuclear Power Unit 1 on December 13, 2018; Commercial operation of Unit 2 on September 7, 2019.
These two units are the third and fourth EPR units in the world after the Finnish Okiluto Unit 3 and the Flandersville Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 in France, but they eventually became the world’s first and second EPR units to be put into commercial operation.
Taishan Nuclear Power Plant is also the largest cooperation project between China and France in the energy field. The construction and operation of the project, Taishan Nuclear Power Company, is jointly invested by China Guangdong Nuclear Power, EDF and Yudean Group. Among them, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings 51%, the French side holds 30% of the shares, and Yudean holds 19%. This project makes EDF become the first foreign company to invest in the construction of a nuclear power project in China.
EPR technology is a third-generation nuclear power technology jointly developed by EDF and its subsidiary Framatome.
China Guangdong Nuclear Power stated that it has always implemented the safety-first policy to ensure the safety of nuclear power in accordance with the requirements of nuclear safety regulations. Over the past 30 years of managing and operating nuclear power plants, it has maintained good performance in safe operation. For a long time, it has kept information open and transparent, disclosed nuclear power plant operation events and surrounding environmental monitoring data to the public in a timely manner, consciously accepts independent environmental supervision, and shares nuclear safety and environmental monitoring information with surrounding areas such as Guangdong Province. (Source)