Being, Jan 1

The first generating unit of a nuclear plant in China's Guangdong province commenced its trial operations Tuesday.

The No. 1 unit of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant was connected to the power grid Tuesday, reported Xinhua citing the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. in a statement.

Having an estimated cost of 73.2 billion yuan (about $12 billion), the nuclear plant is expected to start commercial operations in a few months. 

Construction on the No. 1 unit of the second nuclear power plant in Guangdong started in mid December 2008. Its six units will generate 48 billion killowatt hour (kwh) of electricity a year after going into commercial operations around January 2019, the company said.

Compared with a similar coal-fired plant, Yangjiang can reduce coal consumption by 15.6 million tonnes of standard coal a year. It can also help cut emission of carbon dioxide by 38.3 million tonnes per year and that of sulfur dioxide by 370,000 tonnes. 

src:IANS