Major Chinese operators report nuclear output for 2024

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

In an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China General Nuclear (CGN) said that, as of 31 December 2024, it had a total of 28 power reactors in operation with a combined generating capacity of 31,798 MWe.

Total power generation last year of reactors operated and managed by the group totalled about 242.2 TWh, a year-on-year increase of 6.08%, it said. Meanwhile, the total amount of electricity supplied to the grid was 227.3 TWh, an increase of 6.13%.

CGN said that during 2024, it completed, as scheduled, 13 annual refuelling outages (including one annual refuelling outage conducted over to the next year), five ten-year outages (including one ten-year outage conducted over to the next year) and one initial outage.

As of 31 December 2024, CGN managed a total of 16 reactors under construction (including eight units which were entrusted to the company by the controlling shareholder of the company for management), among which, two were in the commissioning phase, three were in the equipment installation phase, two were in the civil construction phase, and nine were preparing for first concrete to be poured. Unit 1 of the Huizhou/Taipingling plant in Guangdong province is expected to enter commercial operation during 2025.

Meanwhile, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) subsidiary China National Nuclear Power announced to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its nuclear power units generated a total of 183.1 TWh of electricity in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%. The amount of electricity supplied to the grid was 171.260 billion kWh, also a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%.

As of the end of December, CNNC controlled 25 power reactors in operation with an installed capacity of 23.75 GWe; controlled 18 units either under construction or approved for construction, with an installed capacity of 20.641 GWe.

In 2025, CNNC's planned nuclear power generation is 195.4 TWh. The company's controlled nuclear power units in operation are scheduled to undergo 16 maintenance and refuelling outages throughout the year (including three ten-year overhauls, two five-year overhauls and 11 routine overhauls).

While CNNC and CGN are the main nuclear operators in China, State Power Investment Corporation (via its nuclear power business State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation) and Huaneng Group are the country's third and fourth nuclear operators, respectively. Other companies - including Huadian, Datang and Guodian - own stakes in some plants.

China's total fleet of 58 operable reactors supply about 5% of the country's electricity.