Ashraf AboArafe
Construction has officially begun on the nuclear island for Unit 1 of the Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang Province, China, marking the start of full-scale development for the facility and adding a new member to the “Hualong One” family of nuclear power units.
The project aims to build six nuclear units with a combined capacity of six million kilowatts. Once completed, the plant is expected to generate 55 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by around 45 million tons each year—significantly boosting the share of clean energy and improving China’s energy structure.
Unit 1 is designed for a 60-year operational life and will employ China’s independently developed third-generation nuclear technology, Hualong One. Over the decade since the first unit of its kind began construction, this technology has steadily advanced toward mass production, engaging nearly 6,000 upstream and downstream enterprises and creating a relatively complete nuclear equipment manufacturing and supply chain.
The start of nuclear island construction represents a milestone not only in strengthening China’s clean energy capacity, ensuring energy security, and advancing low-carbon transformation, but also in offering the world scalable, replicable nuclear power solutions—helping more countries achieve their energy transition and emissions reduction goals.
