CGN starts construction of second reactor unit at Zhaoyuan nuclear power plant in Shandong

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) commenced the main construction of the second reactor unit at its Zhaoyuan nuclear power project in Shandong on Thursday, September 5th. The pouring of the first concrete for the nuclear island signifies the official start of the main construction work.

The Zhaoyuan project, CGN's tenth nuclear power base in China, received national approval on August 19, 2024. The main construction for the first unit began on November 18, 2025. Notably, this first unit is the first "Hualong One" nuclear reactor equipped with a cooling tower in China.

The second unit now under construction will feature a circular raft foundation with a radius of 27 meters and a height of 3.7 meters. Approximately 8,800 cubic meters of concrete will be poured, with the continuous pouring expected to last around 60 hours.

The Zhaoyuan project is planned to have a total of six "Hualong One" reactor units. Each unit will be fitted with a 203-meter-tall natural draft cooling tower covering a water catchment area of 16,800 square meters. These towers will utilize atmospheric cooling instead of direct seawater cooling.

Upon completion, the entire facility is projected to generate around 50 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, sufficient to meet the power needs of over 5 million people. This is expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions, equivalent to planting over 110,000 hectares of forest each year.