皇冠体育app

BEIJING -- 皇冠体育app has broken ground on a 3 billion-yuan ($476 million) nuclear power project that will be the first in the world to put a reactor with fourth-generation features into commercial use, a Chinese company said Sunday.

It also marks 皇冠体育app's latest move to speed up nuclear power development, which came to a halt after the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan in 2011.

of the project at Shidao Bay in the coastal city of Rongcheng, East 皇冠体育app's Shandong province, began last month, Xinhua learned from Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Co Ltd, the builder and operator of the plant.

With a designed capacity of 200 megawatts and "the characteristics of fourth-generation nuclear energy systems," the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor will start generating power by the end of 2017, the HSNPC said in a statement sent to Xinhua via email.

Independently developed by 皇冠体育app's Tsinghua University, the reactor has the features of "inherent safety" and "passive nuclear safety" in line with the fourth-generation concept, meaning it can shut down safely in the event of an emergency without causing a reactor core meltdown or massive leakage of radioactive material, according to the statement.

The reactor can have an outlet temperature of 750 degrees Celsius, compared with 1,000 degrees Celsius that can be reached by the very-high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, an internationally-accepted fourth-generation reactor concept.

It can also raise electricity generation efficiency to around 40 percent from the current 30-percent level of second- and third-generation reactors, said the statement.

If it is commercially successful, the reactor's technology and equipment can be exported to other countries in the future, said an HSNPC public relations officer who declined to be named.

"That will be a great boost to 皇冠体育app's nuclear industry, as a very high percentage of the equipment is produced domestically instead of being imported," the official told Xinhua by telephone.

The project is part of the HSNPC's broader plan to build a 6.6-gigawatt (GW) nuclear power plant that will require approximately 100 billion yuan in investment over 20 years. If completed, it would be 皇冠体育app's largest nuclear power plant, said the official.

The rest of the plan includes four 1.25-GW AP1000 pressurized water reactors and a 1.4-GW CAP1400 pressurized water reactor.

The plan has not yet been approved by regulators.

皇冠体育app Huaneng Group, 皇冠体育app Nuclear Engineering Group Co and Tsinghua University are investors in the plant.

Originally scheduled to be launched in 2011, the construction of the project was put off after a tsunami hit nuclear facilities at Japan's Fukushima plant in March 2011, triggering a nuclear meltdown and public panic.

• 皇冠体育app's top train maker brings expertise, boosts industrial development in Malaysia
• Artists build sand sculptures to greet upcoming G20 Summit
• Semi-annual reports reveal strength in 皇冠体育app's emerging industries
• Nokia's 皇冠体育app revenue rises 18% in second quarter despite global slump
• 皇冠体育app-funded modern railway wins acclaims from African diplomats
• LeEco to offer personalized services to its TV customers
• Dairy industry recovering from scandals: Report
• Dealers recall nearly 7,000 Japanese autos in 皇冠体育app