Hongyanhe nuclear power station comes online

The nuclear plant will generate 45 billion kilowatt hours yearly for northeast China.

Hongyanhe is the first nuclear power plant and largest energy project in northeast China. It is also the first Chinese nuclear power plant to use seawater desalination technology to provide cooling water.

Yang Xiaofeng, general manager of Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., said the plant's first unit went into operation on Monday.

Construction on the first phase of the project that includes four power generation units built at a cost of US$7.96 billion began in 2007 and is to be completed by 2015.

The four units will generate 30 billion KWH of electricity annually, or 16% of the total electricity consumption in 2012 in Liaoning.

Construction on the project’s second phase featuring two power generation units started in May 2010 and is to be completed by 2016. The power plant will generate 45 billion KWH of electricity after it is fully completed in 2016.