China conducted a successful trial of the No. 1 generating unit of its first commercial heavy water nuclear reactor in Haiyan County of Zhejiang province.

Qian Jianqiu, chief engineer of the Qinshan No. 3 Nuclear Power Company, said the generating unit reached its first critical point, indicating the beginning of nuclear fission.

Kang Rixin, board chairman and general manager of the company, said two other major experiments incorporating the unit in the power network and operating it at full capacity would be carried out before the unit enters commercial operation.

It is expected the No. 1 unit will begin power production and be incorporated in the power network in November and operate at full capacity by the end of the year.

With a designed generating capacity of 28 million watts for its two generating units, the reactor was made in China with imported technology from Canada.

The reactor, which has a lifespan of 40 years, is expected to produce about 10 billion kwh of electricity each year after both units are operational.

The reactor project is listed as the third stage nuclear energy development of Qinshan nuclear power station.

Three pressurized reactors developed by China on its own were installed and put into operation at the station during the first two-stage development in 1980s.

( September 23, 2002)