26 Oct (NucNet): The Fuqing-3 nuclear reactor unit in southeastern China's Fujian province began commercial operation on 24 October 2016, project operator China National Nuclear Corporation and the International Atomic Energy Agency said. According to the IAEA, CNNC began construction of the 1,000-MW CPR1000 on 31 December 2010 and the unit was connected to the national power grid for the first time on 7 September 2016. The unit reached first criticality in July 2016. There are six units at the Fuqing site with three now in commercial operation, including Fuqing-3, and three under construction. Fuqing-1 began commercial operation on 22 November 2014 and Fuqing-2 on 16 October 2015. Fuqing-4 is expected to begin operating in 2017, CNNC said in a statement. All four are CPR1000 units. Fuqing-5 and -6 are China’s first two Hualong One reactors. The first nuclear concrete for Fuqing-5 was poured on 7 May 2015 and for Fuqing-6 on 22 December 2015. The Hualong One is the first third-generation design for which China owns all intellectual property rights. It incorporates elements of CNNC's ACP1000 and China General Nuclear's ACPR1000+ reactor designs. The Fuqing nuclear station is being jointly constructed and operated by CNNC (51%), China Huadian Corporation (39%) and the Fujian Investment & Development Co Ltd. (10%). The cost of the facility has been put at about 100bn yuan (€13.5bn, $14.7bn). According to IAEA statistics, China now has 36 nuclear units in commercial operation and 20 under construction.
