DNMC prevails again in EDF Safety Challenge Competition

Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operation and Management Company (DNMC) was presented first prize under the Capability Factor category at the 2018 EDF Safety Challenge Competition award presentation ceremony in Paris on March 28.

The “capability factor” refers to the availability of nuclear power units and is a critical indicator of their power-generating capacity. It is the 11th consecutive year that the CGN subsidiary leads in that category.

Founded in 1999, the EDF Safety Challenge Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious competitions in the field of nuclear power. More than 60 nuclear power units from France, China, and South Africa send the same type of reactors to take part in the assessment, which aims to evaluate their safety performance from the previous year and select winners and best practices for reference.

DNMC has maintained a top place among similar nuclear power operators by reaping in a total of 39 first prizes in this global competition.

Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base, located in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong province, which has six gigawatt-level nuclear power units in the Daya Bay NPP and the Ling Ao NPP, is the world’s largest light-water pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power base. The base has been operating stably and has kept setting world records since its first unit went into operation in 1994.

Unit 1 of the Ling Ao NPP had safely operated for 4,690 days with zero unplanned shutdowns as of March 28, topping its global counterparts.

Of the 72 performance indicators for the six nuclear power units at the base, 54 ranked in the world’s top quartile and 49 were in the world’s top decile in 2018, according to the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

Additionally, 10 nuclear power units, including Unit 1 and 2 of Daya Bay NPP, Unit 2 of Ling Ao NPP, Unit 2 of LNPS II NPP, Units 1 and 3 of Ningde NPP, Units 1 and 4 of Hongyanhe NPP, Unit 3 of Yangjiang NPP, and Unit 2 of Fangchenggang NPP, also received full marks in the WANO comprehensive performance ranking.

Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base generated 46.1 TWh of on-grid electricity in 2018, hitting a new high. As of Dec 31, 2018, it has accumulatively generated 709.8 TWh of electricity, with 248.8 TWh exported to Hong Kong.