Construction of the second phase of the Sanmen nuclear power plant, China's first third-generation nuclear project, is expected to start at the end of 2011.

The second phase consists of two 1,250 mW reactors, which are expected to use the AP1000 technology from the US-based Westinghouse, said Gu Jun, president of Sanmen Nuclear Power Co Ltd under China National Nuclear Corp.

The country's top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has approved the preliminary work of the phase II, said Gu.

Construction work on the Sanmen project, which is designed to have three phases with six reactors, is set to finish by the end of 2020, he said.

China started construction of the Sanmen nuclear project this April. The first phase of the project includes two 1,250 mW reactors that use the AP1000 technology. Construction of the first two reactors cost around 40 billion yuan, said Gu. "But with valuable experience from the phase I, phase II and phase III will cost less."

China signed an agreement with Westinghouse two years ago to use the latter's nuclear technology to build four reactors, including two in Sanmen in Zhejiang, and a pair in Haiyang in Shandong.

The Sanmen project is also the world's first nuclear project to use the third generation technology of Westinghouse, he said.

China is building a total of six third-generation nuclear reactors in the country. Besides the four Westinghouse reactors, the country has also signed an agreement with the French nuclear power company Areva to use the company's third generation technology to build two reactors in Taishan in Guangdong province.

Construction of the Taishan project is due to start in August this year, Marc de Andolenko, president of Areva China, earlier told China Daily.

"Compared with the first or second-generation nuclear technology, the third generation technology offers two distinct advantages: greater safety and improved fuel efficiency," said Fu Manchang, a nuclear analyst.

As the world's second largest energy consumer, China has accelerated the development of nuclear power in the country. The country plans to have nuclear power capacity of 40 gW by 2020, accounting for 4 percent of the country's total power capacity.

(China Daily June 6, 2009)