China official says nuclear might meet China's power demands

Beijing -- - China's three major nuclear power bases including Qinshan plant, Daya Bay plant and Tianwan plant will boast a combined capacity of 8.7m kW in two years, outlining the country's nuclear landscape.

Kang Rixin, general manager of the China Nuclear Industry Group Corporation, said at a recent exhibition that nuclear power is expected to become a major means of relieving China's power demands in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Electricity generated by nuclear power accounted for only 1.4 per cent of China's total electricity supply by May 2003, compared to 16 per cent in developed countries, according to figures from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Xu Jianzhong, a researcher with the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics under the CAS said that China is expected to obtain 4 per cent of its electricity, or 32m kW generated by nuclear plants by 2020. Eight generating units are currently operating in the three bases, with another three due to begin operation in the next two years.

Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, the first nuclear power plant on the Chinese mainland, is housed in China's economically developed eastern Zhejiang Province, on the northern bank of Hangzhou Bay.

Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant is located in south China's Guangdong Province, and Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is in Lianyungang City of Jiangsu Province, also in the booming east.