Cold function tests were completed at unit 1 of the Taishan NPP in China's Guangdong province on 27 January, according to China General Nuclear (CGN). The unit is expected to start up later this year and will be the first EPR reactor to begin operating.
CGN said this was "the world's first cold test to be completed on the EPR nuclear power plant". The tests, which included the initial start-up of fluid systems and support systems, provided initial operational data on equipment, ensured compatibility of operation with interfacing systems and verified the functional performance of those systems.
In late December, China's National Nuclear Safety Administration carried out on-site inspections and evaluations at Taishan 1 and issued a permit on 29 December for the cold function tests, which began the following day. Taishan 1, under construction since 2009, is expected to start up in early 2017 followed by Taishan 2 later that year. These are the first two reactors based on Areva's EPR design to be built in China under an €8bn ($8.7bn) contract signed by Areva and CGN in November 2007.
The Taishan project is owned by the Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited, a joint venture between EDF (30%) and CGN.
