(Yicai Global) March 25 -- The demonstration project using China National Nuclear Corporation’s third-generation atomic power technology Hualong One was put into full commercial use today, with the two units in Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant capable of generating almost 20 million kilowatt-hours of power each year. 

Located in southeast China, the Hualong One demonstration project consists of unit 5 and 6. Unit 6 was formally put into commercial use today after it connected to the grid for the first time in January, said a notice on CNNC’s website. 

Unit 5 began commercial operation in January last year, becoming the world’s first commercial-use unit using Hualong One technology. 

The power generated by the two units will be a major boost for China’s environmental goals. A thermal power station producing the same amount of power a year would consume 6.24 million tons of coal and emit 16.32 million tons of carbon dioxide, according to CNNC. 

Based on second-generation nuclear power technology, Europe and the United States began to introduce safer third-generation atomic power plant solutions in the 1990s, including AP100 in the US, EPR in France and VVER from Russia.

Against this backdrop, China's two nuclear power giants, CNNC and China General Nuclear Power Group, have worked together to develop the Hualong One technical solution, which passed overseas reviews in 2014. 

Large-scale construction of projects using Hualong One have begun in Zhangzhou, Fujian province and Changjiang, Hainan province, and there has been smooth progress, CNNC said. 

CNNC has also formed partnerships with over 20 countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Brazil, to push for Hualong One to be used overseas. The first overseas project, Unit 2 of the Karachi Nuclear Power Station in Pakistan, began commercial operation last May, and Unit 3 was connected to the grid for the first time in early March this year.

Editor: Tom Litting