Whales once frolicked right where we stand. Welcome to Daya Bay. It is now known for something else. Daya Bay lies on the South China Sea. It sits on Guangdong Province’s south coast in China. Shenzhen’s Dapeng Peninsula borders it to the west. Huizhou is to its north and east.
Once, this bay was called Bias Bay. In the 1920s, pirates hid here. China was busy with its Northern Expedition then. Later, Japan seized part of it during the Canton Operation.
But there is a more recent development. The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant is here. It is near Longgang District in Shenzhen. It also sits northeast of Hong Kong.
Lawrence Kadoorie had an idea. He wanted to build a nuclear plant in Guangdong. It would supply power to Hong Kong and Southern China. Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping both liked the plan. They wanted to celebrate its opening in 1992.
Building Daya Bay was not without problems. Some Hong Kong politicians objected. Martin Lee and Szeto Wah were among them. A million people signed a petition. They opposed nuclear power. Concerns centered on the environment and Hong Kong residents’ rights.
Unit 1 started operations in August 1993. Unit 2 followed in February 1994. Framatome, a French company, designed and built the reactors. Chinese firms also participated. The plant was initially named Guangdong-1 and Guangdong-2.
Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operations and Management Co operates the plant. It is an affiliate of China General Nuclear Power Group. CLP Group owns 25% of Daya Bay. It buys about 80% of the plant’s power for Hong Kong. Guangdong Nuclear Investment owns the other 75%. It is a CGN subsidiary.
There were incidents during construction. In 1987, workers discovered 316 missing steel reinforcing bars. These bars were missing from Unit 1’s reactor platform. A Hong Kong newspaper revealed the problem. Officials said it was a misunderstanding of the drawings. Extra reinforcement was added to fix the problem.
In 2010, there was a report of a radioactive leak. Officials denied this. They stated the plant was operating safely. They said there was no leak. CLP confirmed a small leak. But it was below international reporting standards. No Hong Kong monitoring stations detected increased radiation.
Daya Bay has also received safety awards. In 2011, it won four awards in an EDF Energy competition. The plant also had minimal radiation exposure for its staff.
Daya Bay generates a lot of electricity. It produces over 150 billion kilowatt-hours yearly. The Hong Kong Electric Group purchases 70% of it. This supplies power to Hong Kong users.
So, Daya Bay has transformed. It went from a pirate hideout to a power source. It has faced controversy and challenges. But it continues to operate. It is a key part of the region’s energy supply. A modern marvel amidst an ancient bay.