As the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins, Guangdong's nuclear power sector has once again cemented its leading position in the national energy landscape, outpacing other regions by a significant margin. According to the latest data from Polaris Power Network, Guangdong's nuclear power generation from January to February this year reached 16.86 billion kilowatt-hours, firmly ranking first in the country. This figure exceeds that of second-place Fujian (15.22 billion kWh) by 1.64 billion kWh and third-place Zhejiang (12.42 billion kWh) by 4.44 billion kWh.
On the high-barrier track of nuclear power, what enables Guangdong to maintain its top position? The answer lies in two key factors: "scale" and "innovation."
**Foundation of Scale: Leading in Operational and Under-Construction Capacity**
Competition in the nuclear power industry is, first and foremost, a competition of scale. Without sufficient installed and generation capacity, it is difficult to play a significant role in a region's energy structure.
Guangdong is currently the province with the most concentrated distribution of nuclear power projects and the largest scale of operational and under-construction capacity in China. By the end of 2025, Guangdong's installed nuclear power capacity had reached 16.18 million kilowatts, accounting for approximately 25.8% of the nation's total nuclear power capacity. It is this solid foundation that has made Guangdong's nuclear power increasingly prominent within the province's energy mix. In the first two months of 2026, nuclear power accounted for 16.6% of Guangdong's total electricity generation of 101.6 billion kWh, making it the second-largest power source after thermal power.
This scale advantage was not built overnight. As the "cradle" of China's commercial nuclear power, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has been operating safely for 32 years, supplying over 330 billion kWh of electricity to Hong Kong, which constitutes a quarter of Hong Kong's total electricity consumption. It can be said that Guangdong's leadership in nuclear power began with Daya Bay but has progressed far beyond it.
Currently, Guangdong's nuclear power projects under construction are progressing at full speed. The Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant plans for six "Hualong One" units, with four already under construction. The Lufeng Nuclear Power Plant has four units approved and under construction. In 2025, units 3 and 4 of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant received state approval, while projects such as the third phase of Fangchenggang and the second phase of Taishan are advancing simultaneously. In 2025, all 28 operational units managed by CGN Power achieved "zero unplanned shutdowns," and the total installed capacity of operational and under-construction nuclear power units increased by over 20 million kilowatts compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Notably, in April 2026, the first "Hualong One" nuclear power unit in the Greater Bay Area—Unit 1 of Taipingling—officially commenced commercial operation. It is expected to generate over 9 billion kWh annually, sufficient to meet the annual electricity needs of a million residents, marking a new level of security in Guangdong's nuclear power supply.
This foundation of scale ensures that Guangdong's nuclear power sector is not only "large in quantity" but also "solid in foundation."
**Innovation as a Breakthrough: Accelerating Batch Construction of "Hualong One"**
If scale determines the "tonnage" of Guangdong's nuclear power, then independent innovation capability determines how "far" it can go.
As a strategic industry with high technological barriers, the core technologies of nuclear power cannot be bought or begged for. The key to Guangdong's sustained leadership lies in charting an innovative path from "introduction" to "independence," and from "single units" to "batch construction."
In 2025, the China Southern Atomic Energy Science and Technology Innovation Center, an advanced nuclear energy original technology source created by CGN Power, accelerated its construction, providing a solid experimental platform for the iterative upgrade of "Hualong One" and the research and development of advanced reactor types. This signifies that Guangdong is not only a "major province" in nuclear power application but is also advancing towards becoming a "source" of nuclear power technology.
Today, achievements in independent innovation are rapidly materializing across Guangdong's major nuclear power bases. At the Lufeng Nuclear Power Base, the construction of units 5 and 6 is steadily progressing, and the first domestically produced "Hualong One" main steam release isolation valve has been successfully shipped and will be first applied to Lufeng Unit 5. At the Taipingling Base, with the official operation of Unit 1, the "Hualong One" has achieved a critical leap from "demonstration" to "large-scale application" within the Greater Bay Area.
Data best illustrates the point: Currently, CGN operates 29 nuclear power units with a capacity of 33.04 million kilowatts and has 19 units under construction with a capacity of 23.02 million kilowatts. Among these, 17 units employ the third-generation "Hualong One" nuclear power technology. This means Guangdong not only possesses the nation's largest nuclear power cluster but also the most advanced independent technological equipment system.
From the "breakthrough from zero" at Daya Bay to the current batch construction of "Hualong One," Guangdong has formed a complete industrial chain covering nuclear power design, equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and production operation. It has become the region with the most comprehensive layout and the most prominent cluster effect within China's nuclear power industry system.
Why does Guangdong firmly hold the "top seat" in nuclear power? The answer is clear: it is built on the deep roots laid by Daya Bay over 30 years, which grew into a foundation of scale; and it is built on the breakthrough spirit of "Hualong One," which cultivated the confidence for innovation. Looking ahead, projects like Taipingling, Lufeng, and Taishan are poised for further development, and the large-scale application of independent third-generation nuclear power technology is accelerating. The story of Guangdong's nuclear power is just beginning.
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