BEIJING - China's first third generation AP1000 nuclear power reactor is expected to come into operation by the scheduled time of 2013.
The country started to construct its first third-generation pressurised water reactors in 2009, which were also the world's first to use AP1000 technologies developed by US-based Westinghouse.
Construction progress slowed down after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused devastation and sparked a nuclear power crisis in Japan last March, causing delays of six to 12 months for the reactors under construction in China's coastal areas, said a Chinese nuclear company executive.
But Wang Binghua, board chairman of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) said with optimised construction schedule and enhanced supervision over equipment, he was confident to bring the No 1 Unit of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Project in China's east Zhejiang Province, one of the reactors under construction, into operation in 2013.
He said that construction progress of the country's third-generation nuclear reactors is generally ‘under control’. Wang also attributed the delays to Westinghouse's design adjustments during construction and a stricter construction requirement for endurance concerns. It has also taken more time for the construction and management staff to adapt to the construction methods of third-generation reactors, he added.
Wang also noted that designers of the projects have strengthened safety evaluation after the Japan crisis. "Both the SNPTC and Westinghouse has agreed that the new reactors are able to survive the same shock experienced by the Japanese plant," he said. The two companies are still mulling over further efforts to ensure nuclear safety.
China's own version of the AP1000 design, known as the CAP1000, is also one the way, according to the SNPTC.
"The transfer of key technologies and software from the Westinghouse has been completed," said the company.
According to Wang, 55 per cent of the four reactor units under construction were made up with domestic equipment, and he expected that the country's fifth unit will be total domestic production.
Chinese designers are also working on an updated version of the AP1000 technologies, or the CAP1400 system, he said.