Chinese firm DFEM claims building world's biggest nuclear generator

BEIJING: China has built the world's biggest nuclear generator in terms of per-unit installed capacity.


The state-run Sichuan province-based Dongfang Electrical Machinery Company Ltd ( DFEM) claimed that the 1,750 MW generator will soon become part of a power plant.

The generator is being sent to the Taishan nuclear power plant in south China's Guangdong Province from the company's production base in Deyang City, Sichuan Province, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

DFEM will provide two such generators for the nuclear power plant. The company has produced 14 nuclear generators so far with a total installed capacity of 15,790 MW.

The Taishan nuclear power plant is a joint venture of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company Ltd ( CGNPC) and Electricite de France.

According to CGNPC, the first-phase project of the nuclear power station has a total investment of 50.2 billion yuan ($ 8.13 billion) and would include the construction of two units using the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) technology, with a unit capacity of up to 1,750 MW.

The two units of the first-phase project are to be put into commercial operation in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and will annually generate 26 billion kilowatt-hours on-grid energy when completed, the report said.

According to a government white paper on energy released in October 2012, China had 15 nuclear power-generating units in operation with a total installed capacity of 12.54 GW and another 30 units currently under construction which will add another 32.81 GW.