Russia's AtomStroyExport wins contract to build Tianwan nuclear power plant's units 3 and 4.

[NNadir]

A general contract has been signed for the construction of the second phase (units 3 and 4) of the Tianwan nuclear power plant at Lianyungang city in Jiangsu province, China.

Phase 1 at Tianwan will be joined by two further VVERs (Image: CNNC)
The contract between Russia's AtomStroyExport (ASE) and China's Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation (JNPC) was signed today in St Petersburg by ASE president Dan Belenky and JNPC CEO Jiang Goyuan.

The project to build Tianwan units 3 and 4 will be similar to the first stage of the power plant, comprising two Russian-designed 1060 MWe VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors, with JNPC taking responsibility for the design and supply of non-nuclear components and equipment.

In October 2006, a preliminary agreement for phase 2 of the Tianwan plant was signed with ASE. Construction of units 3 & 4 was to start when both the first two units were commissioned, and hence in November 2007 a further agreement was signed. A framework contract for the construction of the second phase was signed by ASE and JNPC in March 2010. In September 2010, during a visit to China by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a contract was signed to develop the technical design of the two new Tianwan units.

Tianwan phase 1 was constructed under a 1992 cooperation agreement between China and Russia. First concrete was poured in October 1999, and the units were commissioned in June 2007 and September 2007 respectively. A two-year warranty operation period for Phase 1 expired in September 2009, and the plant was formally signed over earlier this year.

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-ASE_contracted_to_build_Tianwan_phase_2-2311104.html">ASE contracted to build Tianwan phase 2

China brought two new reactors into commercial operations this year, and poured first concrete for another earlier this week. Twenty-four other reactors are now under construction.

China plans 80 nuclear reactors this decade, and over 400 by 2050, at which time it will be producing more nuclear power than the United States produces from nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, dangerous oil, dangerous gas, and dangerous coal combined.

This is good news for San Francisco, where recent analysis of lead isotopes showed that 28% of the particulate air pollution in that city originates in East Asia.

[joshcryer]

1. There's a Nuclear Renaissance after all?

:shrug:

[NNadir]

2. Actually, there isn't any such thing. Nuclear power never went away.

It was the fastest growing form of climate change gas free energy in the world from 1980, when Amory Lovins declared it dead, until 2009.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/table27.xls

The claim of a "nuclear renaissance" is thus somewhat disingenous. Since nuclear reactors last a very long time, when they are built they generally stay built.

It should be said that there is a renaiissance of nuclear construction on a grand scale. China now has almost half as many reactors under construction as France has reactors.

They will easily pass France this decade, and the United States within 20 years.

Sending one billion Chinese one billion copies each of cut and pastes from Mark V. Jacobson's paper will do nothing but consume electricity and will do nothing to stop this wise construction program.