By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-10-29 14:33

The feasibility report of Zhejiang Sanmen nuclear power project, China's first nuclear power station using the third generation nuclear technology, went through examination, the China Business News reported today.

According to the schedule, construction of Sanmen nuclear power station will begin in March 2009.

The feasibility research report of was drafted by the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, and examined in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, by more than 200 officials and experts from the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Nuclear Safety Administration, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the China Earthquake Administration.

In July this year, China's National Nuclear Power Technology Co Ltd, in charge of researching the third-generation nuclear power technology, signed a cooperative contract with Westinghouse, an American power firm, to introduce AP1000 technology.

Four reactors using AP1000 technology will be installed in Zhengjiang Sanmen and Shangdong Haiyang respectively. The first one, with an output of 1.25 million kW, will be built in Sanmen, east of Zhengjiang Province, east China, in 2013.

At present, China is running 11 pressurized water reactors, three independently produced, two introduced from Russia, four from France, and another two from Canada, all of which rely on second-generation technology.

Zhu Chengzhang, policy research department's director of former Energy Ministry, revealed that in 1980 China had set a target of 40 million kW in terms of installed capacity for its nuclear plants. However, divergence on technical standard constrained the country from constructing new nuclear power stations over the most recent two decades.

The national 11th Five-Year Plan has adjusted the nuclear power development strategy to "active development" from "proper development." According to a new target, China's installed nuclear power capacity will grow from the current eight million kW to 40 million kW by 2020, accounting for four percent of the national overall installed power generation capacity.

Ma Lu, deputy general manager of China's National Nuclear Power Technology Co Ltd, implied that France and Russia, two of the countries bidding for Sanmen project, will not excluded in China's adoption of third-generation technology because reaching the 2020 nuclear power target will likely require their cooperation.