FUZHOU, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Fuel loading started Friday at China's first nuclear power unit using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design, bringing the unit one step closer to operation.

The loading started at 3:30 p.m. at the No. 5 nuclear power unit in the city of Fuqing, east China's Fujian Province, according to the China National Nuclear Corporation (cnnC).

Hualong One reactors were jointly designed by two nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and the cnnC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014.

The nuclear power unit, which began construction in 2015, is expected to start operation this year.

The No. 1 to No. 4 nuclear power units of the Fuqing project were put into commercial operation in September 2017, and have generated a total of 130 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity so far. Compared with power generation with fossil fuels, the four nuclear power units have cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 105.44 million tonnes, according to the cnnC.