Thursday, June 21, 2007

First Russian Built Nuclear Power Reactor In China Goes Into Operation

"Our first reactor has gone into operation, we can't say it happened very quickly, but on the other hand, it didn't take a very long time either. Experts from both nations have overcome a lot of technical issues."

The two nations agreed to build the 3.3-billion-dollar pressurised water nuclear plant in eastern China's Jiangsu province in 1997.

The second phase of the project, also to include two 1,000 megawatt reactors, is currently under discussion, Kamenskikh said.

The number one nuclear reactor at the plant, the 10th to go into commercial operation in China, formally went online on June 2, while the number two reactor is currently undergoing test operations.

China plans to have up to 40 gigawatts of installed nuclear power by 2020, meaning that it will need to build around 30 more 1,000 megawatt reactors in the world's fastest-paced nuclear power buildup.

From Energy Daily