A Russian-built nuclear power plant in East China is due to
start full commercial operation of its second nuclear reactor in
September, and two more blocks can be built there, the building
contractor said yesterday.
Atomstroiexport, the contractor for the Russian atomic agency
Rosatom, put into commercial operation the first reactor at Tianwan
Nuclear Power Plant, Jiangsu Province, earlier this month.
The $1.6-billion plant has been under construction since
September 2000.
Atomstroiexport officials said the company was keen to expand
the capacity of the plant by adding two more reactors.
"To date, the second block has been running at 50 percent of its
capacity," Atomstroiexport head Sergei Shmatko was quoted by
Russian news agencies as saying.
"The successful launch of the first block into operation allows
us and our Chinese clients to plan the launch of the second reactor
for the end of September."
Each of the two already built reactors has a capacity of 1
gigawatt.
"Our dialogue with the Chinese clients on building the third and
fourth reactors has significantly accelerated since the launch of
the first block," Shmatko said.
"By the end of the year, the project of building the third and
fourth blocks at Tianwan will be very clearly outlined."
Outside China, Atomstroiexport is currently building nuclear
power plants in India, Iran and Bulgaria.
According to China's longer-term development plan for the
nuclear power industry, its capacity will increase to 40 million kw
by 2020, with construction work beginning on at least three
generating units in each of the coming 10 years.
Currently, there are 10 commercial nuclear power generating
units operational in China, including the No 1 unit at the Tianwan
power station. Their combined installed capacity is 8 million
kw.
The other nine units included Qinshan, Dayawan, and No 2 and 3
phases of Qinshan and Ling'ao. Four units are being built as the
second phase of the Ling'ao project in South China's Guangdong
Province and the second phase of the Qinshan project in Eastern
China's Zhejiang Province.
Statistics show that China's nuclear industry generated 54.8
billion kWh of electricity last year, less than 2 percent of the
nation's total. The government wants the nuclear industry to
contribute 4 percent of the nation's energy needs by 2020.
(China Daily June 20, 2007)