China starts building first nuke plant after Fukushima disaster

Construction has started for a nuclear power plant in the eastern coastal city of Rongcheng.

It is the first new nuclear power plant to be built in China after Beijing lifted a moratorium to review safety following Japan's Fukushima disaster.

The plant is due to start operation by the end of 2017, according to the state-owned Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Co.

Beijing suspended approval of new nuclear power plants to carry out safety reviews following the Japan's 2011earthquake and tsunami that wrecked the Fukushima plant.

The new plant will incorporate safety features developed at Tsinghua University in Beijing that are meant to allow it to shut down in emergencies without leaking radioactive material, Xinhua News Agency said, citing the operator.
China's decision to press ahead with nuclear development runs counter to moves in other countries such as Japan and Germany, which plan to scale back or shut down their nuclear power industries.

The government said in October it would resume approving new nuclear power plants but said only a few would be allowed. It said the highest safety standards would be required and facilities would be allowed only in coastal areas.

The $475 million facility in Rongcheng, in Shandong province, will have a generating capacity of 200 megawatts, Xinhua said. The company said it broke ground in December and has poured a portion of the foundation.
Plans call for the facility to be part of a 6.6-gigawatt nuclear power complex to be built over 20 years at a cost of $15.9 billion, Xinhua said. It said that if completed, that will be China's biggest nuclear power plant.

China's 15 nuclear reactors currently in operation have 12.5 gigawatts of generating capacity and supply about 1.8% of its power, according to the October report on development plans. Another 26 reactors are under construction and will add 30 gigawatts.

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