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BIZCHINA / Center
Hunan to get 1st inland nuke station
By Xiao Wan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-25 09:06
China's nuclear power facilities are spreading inland from its coastal
region as the country speeds up its eco-friendly power development.
The first inland nuclear plant, according to industry experts, is likely
to be set up near Yiyang City in Central China's Hunan Province on the
bank of Taohuajiang, or Peach Blossom River.
The feasibility study for the project was completed last year, and once
built, the Yiyang plant will be generating 4,000 megawatts (MW) of
nuclear power, or 10 percent of the country's total nuclear capacity by
2020.
But Hunan may not be the only inland province to have a nuclear power
plant. Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan, where land is being surveyed for such
plants, may join it. Provincial governments are even ready to provide
some of the funds for the projects.
China's technology has matured enough to generate nuclear energy in its
inland areas "so long as the site is safe and environmental protection is
guaranteed," says Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of China5e.com,
a top energy website in the country.
A source close to the Hunan project, who declined to be named, said:
"China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the country's largest nuclear
reactor builder, expects to start work on the project in the next three
to five years."
Earlier this year, CNNC entered into a joint venture, Hunan Taohuajiang
Nuclear Power Ltd, with Hong Kong-based China Resources, China Three
Gorges Project Corporation and Hunan Xiangtou Holdings Group.
Preparation for the project is "going on smoothly, although the
development timetable is still to be set by the National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC)", the source said.
The Taohuajiang project will reportedly be divided into two phases, each
designed to generate 2,000 MW.
China sees nuclear power as a clean, alternative solution to its growing
energy demand. It has decided to shift its nuclear power generation from
the so-called appropriate, more cautious model to accelerate development,
according to the nation's 11th Five-Year Plan for the nuclear industry.
The country has 11 nuclear power reactors, all of them in its
economically thriving east and southeast coasts. In 2006, nuclear power
accounted for 1.1 percent of its total installed power capacity,
according to State Electricity Regulatory Commission data.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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