The 1,660 MWe Taishan-1 EPR nuclear reactor in Guangdong (China) has entered commercial operation after achieving all prerequisite conditions for the reactor's safe operation, including in particular the final statutory functional test of continuous operation at full power for 168 hours. It becomes the world's first EPR to come online. It will deliver up to 24 TWh/year of electricity, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 5 million Chinese users.
The Taishan nuclear project is developed by the Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited, a joint venture between China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), who holds a 51% stake, French state-run energy company EDF (30%) and the provincial Chinese electricity company Yuedian (19%). The project will feature two Areva's EPR reactors of 1,660 MWe net (1,750 MWe gross) each, namely Taishan-1 and Taishan-2. The second reactor is still under construction and is expected to be commissioned in 2019.
The EPR technology is also being deployed in Olkiluoto (Finland, one reactor expected in early 2020 instead of 2009), in Flamanville (France, one reactor expected in 2019 instead of 2012) and at Hinkley Point (United Kingdom, two reactors expected in 2027).
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