East China nuclear plant to double generation capacity

The Ningde Nuclear Power Station in east China's Fujian province will double its generation capacity in 2014 as its second generating unit is expected to be put into commercial use in the first half of this year, a company source said Wednesday.

The second generating unit, which has an installed capacity of 1.09 million kilowatts, went into operation on Jan. 4 and is expected to be in commercial use in the first half of this year, according to a press conference organized by the Fujian Ningde Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., the operator of the plant.

The first generating unit went into operation in April 2013. It produced about 7 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity last year.

With the second generator in commercial use this year, the nuclear power plant is expected to produce 12.5 billion kwh of electricity in 2014, accounting for 7.26 percent of the 2013 electricity consumption in the province.

The third and fourth generating units, which also have installed capacity of 1.09 million kilowatts, are expected to be operational in 2015. The four generators are expected to produce 30 billion kwh of electricity annually after completion.

Compared with a similar coal-fired plant, the four nuclear generators can reduce coal consumption by 9.8 million tonnes of standard coal a year. The generators can help cut carbon dioxide emissions by 24 million tonnes per year and sulfur dioxide emissions by 230,000 tonnes.

The plant is co-funded and run by the Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd. and Fujian Energy Group Co., Ltd. Construction on the plant began in 2008.

China currently has 17 nuclear reactors in operation and 28 more under construction, which account for two-fifths of the world's total reactors under construction.