The San’ao Nuclear Power Plant is a station of six Hualong One reactors located in Cangnan County, Wenzhou, in China’s Zhejiang province, and its first unit is now selling power commercially. Unit 1 completed commissioning on 29 April 2026 after reaching first criticality in February and connecting to the grid on 12 March.

San’ao Nuclear Power Plant Sets the Template for China’s Next Reactor Wave

That milestone lifted CGN’s operating fleet to 30 units and 34,248 MW, up from 33,040 MW. Unit 2 has finished hot functional testing and is due to supply power in 2027, unit 3 took first concrete in December 2025, and the private ownership structure pioneered at San’ao reappears in the four projects worth US$25 billion cleared in July 2026.

Project Overview

• Project Name: San’ao Nuclear Power Plant, also written as Sanao
• Location: Cangnan County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China, roughly 450 km south of Shanghai
• Project Value: Not publicly disclosed
• Client and Owner: Cangnan Nuclear Power Company, 46 per cent held by China General Nuclear with other state owned enterprises holding the balance
• Key Components: Six Hualong One pressurised water reactors, with unit 1 adding 1,208 MW to CGN’s operating capacity
• Procurement Model: State owned developer with private capital, Geely Technology Group holding 2 per cent in Phase I and a stake raised to 10 per cent in Phase II
• Construction Start: First concrete on 31 December 2020 for unit 1, 30 December 2021 for unit 2 and December 2025 for unit 3
• Current Status: Unit 1 in commercial operation since April 2026, unit 2 scheduled to begin supplying electricity in 2027
• Expected Output: More than 52.5 billion kWh a year once all six units operate, per CGN
• Strategic Impact: First Hualong One base in the Yangtze River Delta, cutting standard coal use by more than 16 million tonnes a year, per CGN

Project Team

• Client and Owner: Cangnan Nuclear Power Company
• Majority Shareholder and Operator: China General Nuclear Power Group
• Private Investor: Geely Technology Group
• Approving Authority: State Council of the People’s Republic of China
• Nuclear Regulator: National Nuclear Safety Administration
• Main Contractor: Not yet disclosed

Reported 24th May 2022: The construction of unit 1 of the San’ao nuclear power plant in China’s Zhejiang province has “entered a new stage,” according to China General Nuclear (CGN), following the start of equipment installation within its nuclear island.

The executive meeting of the State Council authorized the construction of units 1 and 2 as the first stage of the six-unit San’ao plant on September 2, 2020. On December 30, that year, China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction permit for the two Hualong One units, and the first concrete for unit 1 was poured the next day. Unit 2 construction began on December 30, 2021.

“At this time, the hoisting of steel lining cylinder 6 of unit 1 and the hoisting of steel lining module 1 of unit 2 have both been completed successfully,” CGN stated. The company revealed that the start of installation of the nuclear island of unit 1 is a significant milestone in nuclear power construction.

Read Also: El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Project Updates

The complexity of the nuclear island installation and expectations for the San’ao nuclear power plant

The nuclear island installation project, according to CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Company Deputy General Manager Liu Jianyi, is a “highly comprehensive and complex system project, with many process systems, complex construction technology, strict quality control, high safety level, special inspection and experimental methods, and involves nuclear-grade equipment and large-scale hoisting.”

San’ao 1 and 2 are set to start supplying power in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Once all six units at San’ao are operational, the annual power generation capacity will reach 52.5 billion kWh, surpassing Wenzhou’s annual power consumption in 2020. According to the company, the plant could reduce standard coal consumption by more than 16 million tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by 43.36 million tonnes per year.

The San’ao project is the first in China to involve private capital, with Geely Technology Group owning a 2% stake in the plant. CGN owns 46 per cent of the project company Cangnan Nuclear Power, with the remainder held by other state-owned enterprises.