Construction Starts at Nuclear Site in China
Reactor Simulation
Back in January, I wrote a little something about nuclear energy.
While nuclear power is still highly controversial in the United States, others see it has an option for clean, affordable alternative energy. Here’s a news item about China’s efforts to follow the footsteps of France and Japan in adopting nuclear power as a formidable source of energy.
From DailyTech:
The nation, which currently relies heavily on coal power, is including nuclear development in a diverse program which also includes massive solar and wind power growth.
Concrete was just poured at the site of a new reactor in Sanmen, China, built by the Westinghouse Electric Company, The Shaw Group Inc., China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation, and the Sanmen Nuclear Power Company of China National Nuclear Corporation. The reactor will be the first of four 1,100 MWe reactors built.
The new reactor, the Westinghouse AP1000, is an extremely advanced design which focuses on modularity and automation, as well as safety and optimum fuel use. It is classed as a Generation III+ reactor and is the only such reactor to receive Design Certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
In total, the four reactor project will cost the nation approximately $8B USD. However, it will put them in a position of nuclear leadership, with no other nation currently employing this reactor design, the latest from Westinghouse. Westinghouse President and CEO Aris Candris states, “Completion of concrete pour is a major milestone that visibly moves the Sanmen project from the design and discussion stage to the construction stage. More importantly, by getting this project underway on schedule, we are further helping to ensure that baseload electricity generation will begin at this plant as intended in 2013.”
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