China General Nuclear Power Corp. said it connected the fourth unit of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant to the grid on Sunday, allowing the company to initiate the final round of testing before the reactor in southern China enters commercial operation status.
Technicians completed hot tests of Unit 4 on 26 September, the tests that are conducted to put components through a simulated experience with conditions that mimic full operations.
The facility is scheduled for completion with a total of six reactors. Units 1 through 4 are 1080 MWe CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors, while the next two units, already under construction, are to be ACPR-1000 reactors.
Construction on Unit 4 was begun in November 2012 after a moratorium on plant construction that was prompted by the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Generating Station in Japan.
Construction on Unit 5 began in September 2013, followed by Unit 56, which was begun in December 2013.