The government has approved the first-phase construction of Haiyang nuclear power station in Shandong province, one of China's third-generation nuclear power projects based on the advanced AP1000 technology.
Two nuclear power generating units will be built in phase I in Shandong, each with an installed capacity of 1.25 million kilowatts. The nuclear units will be put into operation in May 2014 and March 2015 respectively, according to a statement from the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp (SNPTC) on its website.
The Haiyang nuclear project is the second in China that is equipped with the AP1000 technology, the third-generation nuclear power reactor designed by US-based Westinghouse Electric Co.
The first application of such technology is Sanmen nuclear power plant, which is under construction in Zhejiang province.
SNPTC said it would officially start the construction in October. The whole Haiyang project will include six nuclear power units. SNPTC said it had reserved space for future expansion.
Shandong Haiyang nuclear power station is located between the cities of Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai. The selection of the location started in 1983. In April 2007 the National Development and Reform Commission approved the preparation work of the construction.
China in recent years has put increasing focus on the construction of third-generation nuclear projects. In 2007, China signed an agreement with US-based Westinghouse, under which it would use the US company's AP1000 technology to build two nuclear power plants in the country. The $8-billion agreement was reportedly the first example of large-scale China-US nuclear cooperation.
In the same year, the country established SNPTC, which is mainly in charge of third-generation nuclear technology development and imports.
China currently has 11 nuclear reactors in operation, using domestically developed technology as well as imported technology from France, Russia and Canada, all of which are first or second generation.
The country has been accelerating the development of the nuclear power industry to reduce its dependence on coal. It started the construction of four nuclear power plants this year and the total investment in the industry will reach 900 billion yuan in the next 15 years.
Nuclear power accounts for less than 2 percent of the total energy. It will increase to 40 gW by 2020, accounting for at least 4 percent of the total.
Source:China Daily
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