Construction on the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (GNPS) began in 1987 and was completed in 1993, making it the first civil nuclear power station in mainland China. The site’s reactor technology was supplied by the French company Framatome while British turbine-generator equipment was also used.[2] The construction of GNPS was managed by Électricité de France and the total production costs (including the repayment of interest) are estimated to be $5.44 billion.[3] GNPS’s primary electricity consumers are Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, consuming 70% and 30% respectively.[4]

The Guangdong Nuclear Power Station produces roughly 50 tons of spent nuclear fuel each year and “has the capacity to store… at least 10 years' worth of spent nuclear fuel.”[5] However, most of the onsite storage at GNPS is full so spent high-level waste is being transported over 2,500 km to the Lanzhou Nuclear Fuel Complex.[6]

GNPS hosts a bi-yearly exercise with American nuclear scientists, engineers, and facility managers in order to promote a nuclear security culture within the complex. Since the beginning of these joint exercises the GNPS management has created numerous programs aimed at increasing plant security. Such programs include a “corrective actions program... and the installation of a safety monitor in the control room.”[7]

Unit 1[8]
Status: Operational
Date of Grid Connection: 31 August 1993
Net Capacity: 944 MWe
Reactor Type: CPR - 1000, an upgraded version of the 900 MWe-class French M310
Fuel Cycle Length: 18 months[9]

Unit 2[10]
Status: Operational
Date of Grid Connection: 7 February 1994
Net Capacity: 944 MWe
Reactor Type: CPR - 1000, an upgraded version of the 900 MWe-class French M310
Fuel Cycle Length: 18 months

Sources:
[1] “Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant,” Vinci Construction Corporation, www.vinci-construction-projets.com.
[2] “About Daya Bay,” Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company, 2010, www.clp.com.hk.
[3] “Nuclear Power Plant Operation,” Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, 2007, www.world-nuclear.org.
[4] “Nuclear Power in China; Daya Bay, Ling Ao Phase I,” World Nuclear Association, September 2011, www.world-nuclear.org.
[5] “Spent Fuel and Nuclear Waste at Daya Bay,” Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company, 2010, www.clp.com.hk.
[6] Eva Sternfeld, “China Going Nuclear,” EU-China Civil Society Forum, 26 November 2010, www.eu-china.net.
[7] Andrew C. Kadak, “Nuclear Power: ‘Made in China,’” The Brown Journal of World Affairs, www.bjwa.org.
[8] “Nuclear Power Reactor Details – GUANGDONG-1,” IAEA Power Reactor Information System, www.iaea.org.
[9] “Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base,” The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, 2008, www.hkie.org.hk.
[10] “Nuclear Power Reactor Details – GUANGDONG-2,” IAEA Power Reactor Information System, www.iaea.org.