The second heavy-water reactor generating unit at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in east China's Zhejiang Province went into operation on Thursday morning and is expected to begin commercial power generation in July.
The unit was successfully tested on Monday morning, and all technical features met design requirements.
Sources from the Qinshan Third-Phase Nuclear Power Plant Co. Ltd. said that the construction and management of the complex had been successful.
The system's design, manufacture, installation and debugging were complete, which had laid a solid basis for power generation on Thursday.
The third phase of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant located in Haiyan county, the first commercial heavy-water nuclear reactor project with two steam turbines, is also the largest project financed jointly by China and Canada.
The generating units have a capacity of 728,000 kw each, with the reactors being made in China with technology imported from Canada. The reactors, with a lifespan of 40 years, are expected to produce about 10 billion kwh of electricity each year after both generating units are operational.
The first such generating unit has been safely operating at full capacity since late December of 2002 when it began commercial power generation.
(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2003)
