China Revives First Nuclear Power Project After Fukushima Disaster
Arlene Lim | | Mar 11, 2015 01:10 PM EDT |
(Photo : Reuters/Bobby Yip) Workers (bottom) stand in front of a nuclear reactor as part of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant seen under construction in Taishan, Guangdong province, October 17, 2013.
China is set to begin the construction of a major domestic nuclear power project in the province of Liaoning, indicating the country's readiness to revive its nuclear industry, which slowed down as an effect of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The Chinese government is now allowing the China General Nuclear Power Group to produce two one-gigawatt (GW) reactors, which represents the second phase of a previous project dubbed as "Hongyanhe."
Like Us on Facebook
The nuclear power expansion project will cost about $100 billion.
Once completed, it will raise China's nuclear capacity from the present 20.3 gigawatt, to 58 gigawatt.
China hopes that by 2020, at least three percent of its electricity consumption will be filled up by nuclear power plants.
Government had recently exercised caution in building nuclear plants and it implemented a temporary freeze on the activities of the nuclear industry, after seeing the devastation in Fukushima way back in 2011.
China went on a safety review of its nuclear facilities for one year.
By the end of 2012, the ban was eventually lifted.
But even then, government did not renew its interest in nuclear projects.
It is only now that Beijing's mood has changed.
But at the same time, it promises to uphold the highest safety standards in the construction sites.
China General Nuclear's general manager, Yang Xiao Feng, says project "Hongyanhe" will use the home-grown "third generation" reactor technology called "ACPR1000."
Aside from reviving its nuclear industry, China also wants to sell two other existing third-generation reactors, Hualong 1 and CAP14000, to foreign customers.
The two reactors are valued at hundreds of billions of dollars.
But before China can find buyers, industry executive and analysts say, China will still need to prove its competence when it comes to manufacturing reactors that are safe to operate, right within its own shores.
China General Nuclear is the state-owned parent company of CGN Power, which raised $3.2 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong last year.
TagsNuclear project, Fukushima
©2015 Chinatopix All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
EDITOR'S PICKS
-
Did the Trump administration just announce plans for a trade war with ‘hostile’ China and Russia?
-
US Senate passes Taiwan travel bill slammed by China
-
As Yan Sihong’s family grieves, here are other Chinese students who went missing abroad. Some have never been found
-
Beijing blasts Western critics who ‘smear China’ with the term sharp power
-
China Envoy Seeks to Defuse Tensions With U.S. as a Trade War Brews
-
Singapore's Deputy PM Provides Bitcoin Vote of Confidence Amid China's Blanket Bans
-
China warns investors over risks in overseas virtual currency trading
-
Chinese government most trustworthy: survey
-
Kashima Antlers On Course For Back-To-Back Titles
MOST POPULAR
LATEST NEWS
Zhou Yongkang: China's Former Security Chief Sentenced to Life in Prison
China's former Chief of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang, has been given a life sentence after he was found guilty of abusing his office, bribery and deliberately ... Full Article
TRENDING STORY
-
China Pork Prices Expected to Stabilize As The Supplies Recover
-
Elephone P9000 Smartphone is now on Sale on Amazon India
-
There's a Big Chance Cliffhangers Won't Still Be Resolved When Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Returns
-
Supreme Court Ruled on Samsung vs Apple Dispute for Patent Infringement
-
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Rumors and Release Date: What is the Latest?