EDF owns a 30% shareholding in Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Ltd. The company’s purpose is to fund, build and operate two EPR nuclear reactors in Taishan (1,750MW each), in the province of Guangdong. TNPJVC operates the power plant. Through this transaction, the Group represents the first foreign investor in Chinese nuclear power generation. Unit 1 came into commercial operation on 13 December 2018, and Unit 2 on 7 September 2019. After their first 18-month fuel cycle, each of the units carried out its first “initial comprehensive inspection” shutdown with reloading.
Monitoring of the Taishan No. 1 reactor gradually revealed an atypical evolution of the radiochemical parameters leading to the suspicion that the fuel assembly rods had become unsealed(1). TNPJVC, which is in charge of the operation, shut down the reactor at the beginning of August.
The analyses carried out following the inspection of the fuel assemblies and the reactor vessel showed that the origin of the sealing issue was due to damage to the cladding on the fuel rods. This damage, which was limited to the lower area of the cladding, was caused by mechanical wear due to the failure of small devices holding the rods in the assemblies(2). Furthermore, the inspections carried out on the assemblies and the inside of the vessel also revealed a localised phenomenon between the assemblies and a component covering the core related to hydraulic exposure.
The analyses and investigations have enabled clear lessons to be drawn and technical provisions to be defined to avoid exposure to similar phenomena during the future operation of EPR reactors. After a thorough investigation, the Chinese safety authority approved the restart of the Taishan EPR No. 1 reactor. It was reconnected to the grid on 15 August 2022.
Concerning the impact of this feedback on the start-up of the Flamanville EPR, see section 1.4.1.1.3.1 “Flamanville 3 EPR project” – “Taishan feedback”. See also paragraph c2.2 relating to Taishan EPR in risk 4A – Management of large and complex industrial projects (including EPR projects such as HPC, FLA3, Taishan) of section 2.2.4 “Risks related to operational performance”.
The net output in 2022 was 12.4TWh. It was affected by the scheduled shutdown of unit 2 for refuelling and maintenance during the summer and by the fortuitous shutdown of unit 1 due to the technical issue encountered.
On 20 March 2019, the NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission) had set a temporary tariff of RMB 435/MWh until the end of 2021. It was extended on 22 December 2021 pending publication of the new tariff mechanism for China’s third-generation nuclear power plants, in particular Taishan. As of early 2023, there had been no further publications by the authorities (see also in section 2.2.4, risk 4A c.2.2 “Taishan EPR”).
Framatome has had operations in China for over 35 years. It is the designer of units 1 and 2 of the Taishan plants. Framatome is supplying some equipment and technology building blocks for the Hualong project (RCP, I&C, etc.) along with the fuel. Framatome operates in China via joint ventures with Dongfang Electric Corporation (FDJV) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CAST) and through its wholly-owned subsidiary Framatome Nuclear Services (FNS).
Through the Chinese subsidiary of EDF Renewables, the EDF group has a stake in several onshore and offshore wind farms in operation, with gross total installed power of 1,040MW (587MW net) and a portfolio of projects under development totalling several hundred MW.
In 2018, EDF Renewables diversified its business into distributed solar power with the creation of an affiliate, aimed at developing rooftop solar power solutions for industrial customers. 162MW is in operation or under construction to date.
In 2022, construction work began on EDF Renewables’ first ground-mounted solar power plant in China, in Jinchang, Gansu province. This 100MW facility is fully% owned by EDF and is due to be commissioned in 2023.
In the sphere of offshore wind power, in March 2019, EDF concluded an agreement with the China Energy Investment electricity company for the construction of two projects (Dongtai IV and Dongtai V) off the shore of Jiangsu province. The two partners are building and operating these wind farms, with total capacity of 502MW.
In the city of Sanmenxia (Henan province), EDF set up a joint venture (of which 65% is held by EDF) for the construction and operation of an urban heating network using the recovery of waste heat emitted by thermal power plants of its partner Datang. The 30-year concession agreement was signed on 9 August 2016
In the city of Lingbao (Henan province), EDF set up a joint venture (of which 65% is held by EDF) to build and operate a heating network powered by a 35MW biomass cogeneration power plant commissioned in March 2020. An incident in January 2022 led to the shutdown of the facility and a technical inspection of the main equipment.
In the city of Sanya (Hainan province), EDF and its local partner signed in 2017 an agreement with the municipal government to build and operate a cooling power plant, which was initiated in September 2021 and provides air conditioning systems to hotels in this region.
In January 2021, EDF and Jinan Heating Group signed a 25-year contract to develop an urban air-conditioning network in a new business district of Jinan (9 million inhabitants), which began operating in August 2021.
In partnership with car manufacturer Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), EDF inaugurated a first battery exchange station for a fleet of taxis for the City of Sanya (Hainan Province) in August 2020.
EDF is also present in this country for public lighting, through the 15-year contract signed with Kunming city (the capital city of Yunnan province) where it manages 130,000 street lights.
The EDF group holds 19.6% of SZPC, a company which owns three coal-fired power plants in the Shandong province. The other shareholders are China Energy Investment Group and the Hong Kong electricity producer CLP. These three plants were commissioned between 1987 and 2004, with a total capacity of 3,060MW. From 31 December 2021, SZPC started to progressively transfer its generation units to China Energy Investment Group with the Shiheng I&II units (1,260MW), with the total divestment of the asset being completed by 31 December 2028.
The EDF group holds 35% of DSPC, the company that owns the Sanmenxia 2 power plant in Henan province, commissioned in 2007, with an installed capacity of 2×600MW, using a technology known as “supercritical coal”.
The EDF group holds 49% of FZPC, a joint-venture created in 2014 with a subsidiary of the Datang group to build and operate an “ultra-supercritical” power plant (2×1,000MW) in the Jiangxi province. This technology makes it possible to reach high levels of temperature and pressure in the boiler, assuring a better output (close to 44% for Fuzhou) than a traditional power plant, while decreasing coal consumption and CO2 per kilowatt-hour generated. The first unit was commissioned in December 2015, the second in April 2016.
The R&D centre’s activities in China involve the generation and storage of low- carbon electricity, innovative electricity grids, local multi-energy systems, energy engineering, electric mobility and open innovation. Benefiting from the highly dynamic and innovative Chinese ecosystem, EDF’s R&D centre in China is working on applications of digital technology and artificial intelligence to energy business lines. The first edition of EDF Pulse China was organised in 2021 with the participation of over 200 Chinese start-ups.
(1) See EDF’s press release dated 14 June 2021, “Information relating to reactor No. 1 of Taishan nuclear power plant” and dated 22 July 2021, “EDF’s communication regarding the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 1 reactor”.
(2) See EDF’s press release of 12 January 2022 “Update on the Flamanville EPR”.
