Preparations Underway for First Nuclear Fuel Loading at San'ao Nuclear Power Project Unit 2

On October 7, it was learned from CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. that San'ao Nuclear Power Project Unit 2 is carrying out preparatory work before its first nuclear fuel loading. Once fuel loading is completed, the unit will enter the stage of nuclear commissioning of the primary system with nuclear fuel.

During the National Day holiday, personnel at key positions of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project stayed at the front line to fully advance the pre-loading preparations. A relevant person in charge of the Fuel Management Section of the Technical Support Department of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. stated that in order to ensure the high-quality completion of Unit 2's first fuel loading and core photography operations, the project working group strictly implemented relevant regulations and management requirements for nuclear material control, and coordinated the advancement of various pre-loading tasks including the submission of first loading information and the approval request for fuel assembly transfer, so as to ensure the standardized, safe and orderly conduct of fuel-related operations.

Semi-automatic operation equipment will be used for this fuel loading. After completing the compilation of the fuel loading sequence, workers will import the program into the industrial control system of the refueling machine, and professional fuel operators will carry out equipment control to transfer 177 fuel assemblies sequentially from the fuel racks in the spent fuel pool to the reactor core. In addition, this fuel loading operation will also use a floating light gun developed by the team of Qiao Sukai, a master craftsman of the nation, to provide underwater illumination for operations inside the core.

A relevant person in charge of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. stated that the first fuel loading is a key node for the unit's transition from non-nuclear commissioning to nuclear commissioning, and is also an important engineering milestone before the unit officially enters operation. After the first fuel loading is completed, the unit will also successively complete a series of stages including reactor criticality, grid connection, and full-power trial operation, ultimately achieving commercial operation.

The San'ao Nuclear Power Project is the first nuclear power project in China with private capital participation. It is planned to build 6 million-kilowatt-class "Hualong One" nuclear power units, with a total project investment of approximately 120 billion yuan. After all 6 units are put into commercial operation, they will deliver more than 54 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually to Zhejiang and even the Yangtze River Delta region, equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by more than 16 million tons and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 51 million tons. At present, San'ao Nuclear Power Unit 1 was officially put into operation for power generation in April 2026.