The nation's largest nuclear reactor builder, China National
Nuclear Corp (CNNC), will join with one of the country's top five
power majors, China Huadian
Group, to build a nuclear power plant in east China's Fujian
Province.
It is the first nuclear power project cooperation
between?CNNC and a state-owned power major whose core business
is not nuclear power development, CNNC said.
The two state-owned electricity generation giants yesterday
signed a framework agreement for the construction of the new
nuclear facility, which could house as many as six 1,000-megawatt
(MW) reactors. The new nuclear plant will be located in Hui'an, in
the southeast part of the province near Quanzhou.
"The Hui'an nuclear project has been included in China's 11th
Five-Year Guidelines (2006-10) -- a national blueprint in which
China's key projects are scheduled -- and the signing of the
framework agreement represents the official start-up of the nuclear
program," said CNNC in a statement yesterday.
According to the agreement, the two Beijing-based conglomerates
will create a joint-venture company with?CNNC the majority
shareholder of the project and responsible for construction and
operation of the plant. As partner, the Huadian Group will
participate in decision-making and project management.
A CNNC company official yesterday told China Daily this
agreement is only the beginning of their partnership. "Further
details such as specific shares, total investment as well as the
size of the plant in the initial phase will be discussed in further
talks," said the official.
Technology for the new plant will be proceed through
international bidding allowing the two firms to choose between
Chinese and foreign technologies, said another company source
yesterday.
"The coming together of the two companies is the beginning of
long-term cooperation in the energy sector and?helps to fuel
the country's fast-growing economy," said Kang Rixin, president of
CNNC, at yesterday's signing.
Kang said CNNC's wide experience in building nuclear reactors
would combine well with Huadian's strong expertise in power project
management resulting in the partnership being a "win-win" situation
forth both.
Only two companies,?CNNC and China Guangdong Nuclear Power
Group, are authorized to build nuclear plants in China. But other
firms such as Huadian and China Power Investment Corp are also
working to gain a share in the huge market by taking a stake in
partnerships with the two nuclear construction experts.
Meanwhile, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd., have
signed a cooperation agreement on another nuclear power plant with
the Shaoguan municipal government.
The project's power generating capacity is unknown but costs
have been put at 100 billion yuan (US$12.5 billion) with an
estimated production value of 10 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion),
said Xu Jianhua, mayor of Shaoguan.
Encouraged by the central government, Guangdong plans to expand
its nuclear power plant development from the coastal regions to
freshwater areas in the north.
The two nuclear plants at Daya Bay and Ling'ao, both in
Guangdong, generated 203.45 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh)?of
electricity?by January of this year. Of that figure, 156.4
billion kwh electricity was generated by the Daya Bay Nuclear Power
Plant with 106.16 billion kwh being sold to neighboring Hong
Kong.
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd., founded in
September 1994 at a cost of 10.2 billion yuan (about US$1.26
billion) exercises control over four nuclear power generating units
at Daya Bay and Ling'ao plants -- two at each location. The four
units have a combined installed capacity of approximately 4 million
kw. It has been building four more nuclear power generating units
at Ling'ao which is close to the Daya Bay power plant.
China plans to build as many as 32 more nuclear reactors within
the next 15 years supplying six percent of the country's power
demand -- it currently sits at two percent.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2006)