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Power Investment Corp plans Hunan, Guangxi nuke plants

By Xiao Wan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-10 07:49

China Power Investment Corporation, one of the country's five leading power generating companies, will accelerate preparation for two nuclear power projects in Hunan and Guangxi, respectively.

The company signed an agreement with the Hunan provincial government on Jan 8, under which both parties will further boost their preparation work on the construction of the Xiaomoshan nuclear project.

Located in the Yueyang city, only 2 km next to the Yangtze River bank, the project is ideal in terms of geographic facilities, said the company. It is designed to have four 1,000-megawatt reactors, with the first phase containing two.

Related readings:  Work on 4 nuke plants to start next year  Nuke plant under way in Zhejiang  Work begins on Fujian nuke plant  Huaneng gears up nuke plant

China Power Investment will also invest 60 billion yuan in the development of other power facilities in Hunan.

The second nuclear power plant will be located in Pingnan in southeastern Guangxi. Local media reported that total investment of the Guangxi project is expected to reach 50 billion yuan. It is designed to have four 1,000-megawatt reactors.

The Hunan and Guangxi projects are still up to approval from the central government and would likely be China's first batch of inland nuclear projects, said a company official who asked not to be named.

Besides the two projects, the company is also doing preparation work for nuclear projects in Hubei, Jiangxi, Jilin, Chongqing, Henan and some other regions, the official said.

As one of China's top five power companies with the most nuclear assets, China Power Investment now holds stakes in eight nuclear power stations, five in operation and three under construction, according to its website.

By the end of 2007 it had nuclear power assets with total capacity of 1,350.8 megawatts, accounting for 3.01 percent of the company's total power capacity.

Compared with coal-fired power, nuclear power is much more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. More companies will enter the field to develop the clean energy, said Fu Manchang, a nuclear analyst.

China now has 11 nuclear reactors in operation, with a combined capacity of 9,080 megawatts.