Today, November 22, 2025, Unit 2 of the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant in the Chinese mainland's Fujian Province was successfully connected to the state grid, marking a major milestone for homegrown third-generation nuclear techthe Hualong-1 design. 🎉⚛️
Construction began in September 2020, and in October 2025, Unit 2 loaded its first batch of nuclear fuel. It now enters a series of rigorous tests to verify safety and performance before commercial operation. Meanwhile, Unit 1 has already been powering homes since its launch, generating over 8.8 billion kWh of clean electricity. 🌱⚡️
When complete, the Zhangzhou site will host six million-kilowatt-class reactors (thats roughly six 1 GW units), totaling about 7.2 million kW of capacity. Each unit can churn out over 10 billion kWh annuallyenough juice to light up millions of households and drive the shift to a low-carbon future. 💡
Why it matters:
- Enhanced safety: Hualong-1 is a homegrown, third-gen design with upgraded fail-safes.
- Mass impact: Combining nuclear with solar and wind means cleaner baseload power for fast-growing cities from Jakarta to Mumbai.
- Green transition: More nuclear means fewer carbon emissions and a boost to net-zero goals across South and Southeast Asia.
The rise of Hualong-1 shows how advanced nuclear can complement renewables to meet surging energy demands. Stay tuned as Unit 2 wraps up its tests and joins Unit 1 in powering a greener tomorrow. 🌏🔋
Reference(s):
New unit of world's largest nuclear reactor base connects to grid
cgtn.com
