(Yicai Global) June 24 -- The last reactor unit of the first nuclear power station in northeastern China has gone into operation, making the atomic power plant the country’s largest by capacity.

The sixth unit at Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant got the go-ahead for commercial operation yesterday after wrapping up 168 hours of testing, China General Nuclear Power Group said on its website. The plant, located in Liaoning province, can now generate 48 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

Construction work began in August 2007. Four reactor units started producing power in 2016, while the fifth went into operation last year. The plant had generated 204.1 billion KW/h of electricity as of the end of March.

At full capacity, its annual output is qual to 20 percent of Liaoning’s total electricity consumption, Shenzhen-based CGN added, noting that the facility consumes 14.5 million tons of standard coal less and emits about 39.9 million tons of carbon dioxide less than a coal-fired power station of the same capacity.

With the plant now fully operational, northeast China will be able to conduct its first nuclear heating project, The Paper reported. Starting from Hongyanhe town, the plant will supply power for heating to an area of 242,400 square meters, cutting 12,100 tons of coal use and 14,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, according to an agreement the plant signed with Northeast Electric Power of State Power Investment in March.

Editor: Futura Costaglione