On March 12, 2026, along the coast of Cangnan County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, a crisp grid connection command sounded at the site of the CGN San'ao Nuclear Power Project. In the main control room, the jumping numbers on the screen announced a historic moment - the first "Hualong One" nuclear power unit in the Yangtze River Delta region was successfully connected to the grid for power generation, and the first clean electricity was imported into the East China power grid from here. From the pouring of the first concrete on December 31, 2020 to this moment, after more than five years of intense construction, this crucial step has finally been taken.

The first unit generates the first kilowatt hour of electricity

The first unit of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project started construction on December 31, 2020. After more than five years of construction efforts, it was successfully connected to the grid for the first time on March 12, 2026. After on-site confirmation, the unit is operating in good condition and all technical indicators meet the design expectations. Next, the unit will enter the stage of on load trial operation, and power enhancement and various performance tests will be carried out as planned. It is expected to be officially put into operation and generate electricity in the first half of 2026.

Annual power supply exceeds 50 billion kilowatt hours

As an important part of energy security in the Yangtze River Delta, the San'ao Nuclear Power Project plans to construct six "Hualong One" nuclear power units, of which three have already started construction. According to Du Yanhui, Chairman of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., after the completion of the project, the annual power generation capacity is expected to exceed 54 billion kilowatt hours, which is close to the current total electricity consumption of Wenzhou City and can meet the annual production and living electricity demand of over 5 million people. Keywords: New Developments, News and Information, Nuclear Power Units

Reduce carbon emissions by 50 million tons

The environmental benefits of the San Ao nuclear power project are also considerable. After completion, the equivalent annual reduction in standard coal consumption will exceed 16.35 million tons, and the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions will be about 50 million tons, equivalent to the addition of more than 120000 hectares of afforestation area. The gradual formation of this clean energy matrix will inject strong impetus into the optimization of energy structure and the achievement of the "dual carbon" goals in the Yangtze River Delta region, becoming a green new engine for high-quality regional development.Editor/Gao Xue