GUANGZHOU, Dec. 31 -- The first generating unit of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in south China's Guangdong Province began trial operations on Tuesday.

The No. 1 unit was connected to the power grid Tuesday, the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. said in a statement.

The plant, at an estimated cost of 73.2 billion yuan (12.1 billion U.S. dollars), is scheduled 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 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.