Westinghouse Electric Company and its customers, China State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and Shangdong Nuclear Power Company Limited (SDNPC) announced that Haiyang Unit 1, the AP1000 nuclear power plant located in Haiyang, Shandong Province, China, has begun to load fuel.

“This is a great day for Westinghouse, our China partners and the nuclear industry. Haiyang Unit 1 continues to demonstrate our ability to deliver safe, innovative solutions for power generation,” said José Emeterio Gutiérrez, Westinghouse president and chief executive officer. He added, “Westinghouse will continue to deploy AP1000 technology throughout the world and demonstrate our technical leadership in the nuclear energy industry.”

Fuel load at Haiyang Unit 1 commenced at 7:36 p.m. (GMT+8) today. Earlier this summer, in preparation for fuel load, Haiyang Unit 1 successfully completed the necessary testing and regulatory reviews conducted by China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA). Haiyang Unit 1 met all the criteria, confirming the capability of Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology.

The plant’s start-up process includes the completed testing phase, the currently occurring fuel load, initial criticality and synchronization to the electrical grid including ascension to 100 percent power. Testing will be performed throughout these phases to ensure safe plant operations until the unit successfully achieves 100 percent power.

“The lessons learned and resources shared between Sanmen and Haiyang throughout all phases of construction and start-up have made tremendous improvements in terms of quality and execution, which will benefit future AP1000 fleets,” stated Gavin Liu, Westinghouse president – Asia Region. “We will continue to work side by side with our Chinese customers and ensure the success of the remaining testing.”

In addition, David Durham, Westinghouse senior vice president, New Projects Business, added, “Our partnership and customer confidence continues to showcase through our successfully completed project milestones at both Sanmen and Haiyang.”

Westinghouse currently has six AP1000 nuclear power plants progressing through construction, testing and start-up. These projects include two units in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, China, two units in Haiyang, Shandong Province, China, as well as two units under construction at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, USA.

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