China To Build Four New Nuclear Reactors At Qinshan Plant

CIVIL NUCLEAR

July 2003 photo of the third Qinshan nuclear power plant (CANDU).

Beijing (AFP) Jun 14, 2005
China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) plans to double generating capacity at its Qinshan plant by building four new reactors for a total investment of 4.3 billion dollars, state media said Tuesday.

CNNC, the country's largest nuclear reactor constructor, will build two 650-megawatt reactors and two 1,000-megawatt reactors, funding the projects itself, the China Daily reported, citing the company.

CNNC said the installed capacity of the Qinshan plant in the eastern province of Zhejiang would rise to 6,200 megawatts from the current 2,900 megawatts upon completion of the projects.

The two 650-megawatt reactors have already won final approval from the central government although the 1,000-megawatt reactors are still awaiting the green light, the report said.

China currently gets just 2.3 percent of its energy from nuclear power plants and is hoping to increase that to 4.0 percent by 2020, which will make it the world's fastest developer of nuclear power.

To achieve this, China plans to increase its nuclear generating capacity from the current 8,700 megawatts to 36,000 megawatts by 2020.

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CIVIL NUCLEAR

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