CGTN’s Cheng Lei (L) speaks to He Yu, chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corporation, in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, China. (Photo /CGTN)
The world's biggest nuclear plant construction company, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), expects to get more reactor approvals in the second half, according to its chairman He Yu.
“I think new reactor approvals will come in the second half or a little later, as part of our high quality and safety first national approach to nuclear power. We are upgrading the network from second generation to third generation. Once that starts generating power in the second half of the year, we can be sure the product is safe. Then we'll gradually release more nuclear power,” He noted.
After the Fukushima disaster, countries and their residents are a little skeptical about nuclear and the possibility of accidents, according to the chairman. But he is positive on the company’s third generation power plants to give a new push to nuclear.
Construction of Hualong One units is also under way at CGN's Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi. The chairman believed designs of Hualong One is very competitive in the international market, and Hualong One will be used in a prospective new nuclear power plant at Bradwell, England.
“Hualong One will be used in the UK, so many politicians and engineers have come to see it. They go from skeptical to convinced immediately. A member of parliament told me, before I came, I had no idea China's design and construction capabilities were so strong, only the Chinese can achieve such a high quality of safety and construction in nuclear power stations,” He mentioned.
Besides, the chairman said that, in the future, the CGN will not only seek for nuclear projects around the world, but also invest in other clean energies globally.
“We are bidding for a project in the Czech Republic at the moment. That's very intense. We are also investing in other clean energies abroad, like wind power, solar power [and] gas power,” He told CGTN.
