China ‘has advantage’ in bid for 2nd nuclear plant
A withdraw from Treasury guarantee demand and self-financing option makes China advantageous in its race with Japan, South Korea and Canada for Turkey’s second planned nuclear facility, Turkish Energy Minister Yıldız says. The winner is expected to be announced before the end of the year.
As the Turkish government nears the deadline it set for itself to announce the winning company of a bid for a second nuclear plant in the Black Sea region, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said China possesses an advantage.
China brings it own financing to the project and does not demand a Treasury guarantee, which are important advantages, Yıldız said at the Caspian Forum 2012 in Istanbul yesterday, Reuters reported.
However, China is also demanding a share in the discussed facility, Yıldız said.
Canada, South Korea and Japan are also bidding for the Sinop nuclear facility plans and the ministry had earlier announced the winner would be made public by the end of this year.
Russia’s Rosatom is building the country’s debut nuclear plant in the southern province of Mersin and Moscow has also announced it would like to take part in Turkey’s future nuclear plans. The energy minister’s remarks matched a statement made by Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan a day earlier.
“Hopefully we will build three nuclear energy plants as of 2023,” Çağlayan said at a Dec. 5 meeting to grant new incentives for a Socar refinery. “One will be in Mersin and the other in Sinop. The Chinese have a very important offer. Once finished these two nuclear plants will generate 85 billion kWh of energy. The cost of such an amount produced with natural gas today, is $4 billion. But the costs in nuclear energy are almost nothing,” he said.
Two out of the four bidders for the second plant have taken steps forward in the process, Yıldız had said late last month.
Canada has been the latest country to join the race as South Korea is seeking a joint attempt with the United Arab Emirates to overcome financing problems.
The Fukushima disaster in March 2011 year may have hurt Japan’s bid as the country is currently revising its own facilities. TEPCO, the builder of the Diiachi facility in Fukushima had withdrawn from the Turkish tender, leaving the ground for other Japanese firms to enter.
Still, many experts speculate the Chinese plants are also raising security concerns as they usually depend on older technology. Turkey is considering nuclear power as a tool to beat its foreign dependency in energy, mainly to Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Platform Against Nuclear, a local anti-nuke group said it will sue the Mersin plant, claiming it is against the official Environmental Impact Assessments Report and it externalizes the locals. Sebahat Arslan, a group spokesman, said at a press conference held in front of a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) office in the town of Gülnar in Mersin that the process was anti-democratic and unlawful, Doğan news agency reported.
ENERGY - China
I was just checking chinese Reactor Technology
CPR-1000
The most numerous reactor type under construction is the CPR-1000, with fifteen units under construction as of June 2010, and another 15 approved and proposed. This reactor type is a Chinese development of the French 900 MWe three cooling loop design imported in the 1990s, with most of the components now built in China. Intellectual property rights are retained by Areva however, which limits CPR-1000 overseas sales potential.
AP1000
The Westinghouse AP1000 is the main basis of China's move to Generation III technology, and involves a major technology transfer agreement. It is a 1250 MWe gross reactor with two coolant loops. The first four AP1000 reactors are being built at Sanmen and Haiyang, for CNNC and CPI respectively. At least eight more at four sites are firmly planned after them.
However, new generation AP1000 reactors are not yet in operation anywhere in the world. It is an as yet unproven technology, and it would be wise for China to build and test one or two of the new reactors before committing to a wide-scale rollout.
EPR
In 2007 negotiations were started with the French company Areva concerning the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), third generation reactors. Two Areva EPR reactors are being built at Taishan, and at least two more are planned (see section below on Embarking upon Generation III plants). Areva says the reactors are 4590 MWt, with net power 1660 MWe.
In October 2008, Areva and CGNPC announced establishment of an engineering joint venture as a technology transfer vehicle for development EPR and other PWR plants in China and later abroad. The JV will be held 55% by CGNPC and other Chinese interests, and 45% by Areva. It will engineer and procure equipment for both the EPR and the CPR-1000.
China plans to develop a domestic program to become self-sufficient in reactor design and construction, as well as other parts of the fuel cycle, though they currently operate using imported Uranium. Shu Guogang, GM of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Project said, "We built 55 percent of Ling Ao Phase 2, 70 percent of Hongyanhe, 80 percent of Ningde and 90 percent of Yangjiang Station."
In 2008, Westinghouse Electric Co., designer of the AP1000, announced that China wants to have 100 nuclear reactors in operation or under construction by 2020.
On 15 July 2010, China’s first CPR-1000 nuclear power plant, Ling Ao-3, was first connected to the grid.
CAP1400 development
In 2008 and 2009 Westinghouse made agreements to work with the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and other institutes to develop a larger version of the AP1000, probably of 1400 MWe capacity, possibly followed by a 1700 MWe design. China will own the intellectual property rights for these larger designs. Exporting the new larger units may be possible with Westinghouse's cooperation.
In December 2009, a Chinese joint venture was set up to build an initial CAP1400 near the HTR-10 Shidaowan site. Construction is expected to start in 2013, operating in 2017.
ACPR-1000 development
In 2010 the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation announced the ACPR-1000 design, a further design evolution of the CPR-1000 to a Generation III level, which would also replace intellectual property right limited components. CGNPC aims to be able to independently market the ACPR-1000 for export by 2013.
VVER-1000
Russia's Atomstroyexport was general contractor and equipment provider for the Tianwan AES-91 power plants using the V-428 version of the well-proven VVER-1000 reactor of 1060 MWe capacity. The reactors incorporate Finnish safety features and Siemens-Areva instrumentation and control systems. Russia's Energoatom is responsible for maintenance from 2009. Two further Tianwan units will use the same version of the VVER-1000 reactor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China