A deal by China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) to fund a nuclear power plant in Britain has shown global potential for China's nuclear power industry.[Special coverage]
The CGN-led Chinese consortium will hold a 33.5 percent stake of the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset, England. The company building the plant, Electricite de France (EDF), will hold a majority 66.5 percent, according to the deal.
Hinkley Point will employ France's EPR nuclear reactors and is designed to guarantee seven percent of Britain's power consumption while cutting emission of nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
Besides the Hinkley Point, CGN and EDF agreed in principle to develop Sizewell C in Suffolk. CGN will hold 20 percent in stakes and EDF will hold 80 percent.
The two companies also agreed in principle to seek a regulatory approval from Britain, which would allow them to build the Bradwell B project with Chinese reactor Hualong No. 1. In the Bradwell B project, CGN will hold 66.5 percent in stakes and EDF will hold 33.5 percent.
"The nuclear power plants in Britain will be benchmark projects for Chinese companies to develop the global market," CGN Chairman He Yu said.
He said the projects in Britain would boost emerging economies' confidence in Chinese nuclear power technology and help the company tap the global market.
"Hualong No. 1 meets the safety requirements of major nuclear power countries. It also reduces the risk and cost of building a nuclear power plant," said Xian Chunyu, chief designer of Hualong.
As the only major country with continuous construction of large nuclear power stations over the past 30 years, China's civil nuclear industry has never reported any major accidents so far.
Zhang Jun, an engineer working on the second phase of a nuclear power station in Fangchenggang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has been working at the construction site for eight years. The station will use the Hualong No. 1 reactors.
"At the site we have a group of technicians that have been working here continuously for at least ten years, which forms a very safe management system," Zhang said. "This is the safety standard China employs in nuclear energy."
He Yu said the CGN and the EDF will share experience to help with the construction of Britain's nuclear project and try to make it a model project for Chinese enterprises seeking to go abroad.
Countries like Thailand, South Africa, Turkey and many others have shown strong interest in the Hualong No. 1. The latest project in Britain will help strengthen global confidence in China's nuclear technology, he said.
