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At the end of 2011, Deng Zhengping, deputy general manager of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, and his colleagues must make a crucial decision: should they finalize the first EPR in the world?
The EPR, or European pressurized reactor, is a third-generation nuclear energy technology of the French giant Framatome. With higher standards of safety and quality, the solution has been adopted in several countries.
EPR projects in Unit 3 of the Olkiluoto NPP in Finland and in Unit 3 of the Flamanville NPP in France started in 2005 and 2007 respectively, four to two years earlier than Taishan Power Station. However, Mr. Deng saw a chance to catch up, if not exceed, his fellow Europeans.
"Some people did not believe we could do it, but I was confident in our skills and experience," Deng told Xinhua. "If we wanted to be first, we had to get ready as quickly as possible."
However, being first was also a risk. Building a new type of reactor is not easy, and Mr. Deng's team will face many challenges, likely leading to significant budget overruns or delays in the project. In addition, without a template to follow, the engineers at the Taishan plant had to develop the manual for themselves as for other EPR projects around the world. The decision was finally made in the second half of 2012, with a positive reaction from the companies involved in the project, especially Framatome, designer of the EPR.
A new chapter was opened in mid-December when Taishan Unit 1, after passing all the test operations, was ready for commissioning.
The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant is built and operated by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC), a Sino-French joint venture formed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), Electricité de France (EDF) and Yudean Group.
He Yu, president of CGN, the largest nuclear construction company in the world, said Taishan's example offered valuable lessons for building the Hinkley Point C project in the UK by CGN and EDF .
Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of EDF, welcomed the commissioning of Taishan's Unit 1, evoking "an important achievement for the entire French nuclear industry", as it demonstrates its ability to develop nuclear technology third generation.
CGN and EDF stressed that the Taishan project was the result of a 35-year strategic cooperation, which began with the construction of China's first commercial nuclear power plant, in Daya Bay, Shenzhen, China Special Economic Zone .
This collaboration is also in line with the reform and openness of the last four decades, as China begins to play an active role in the global nuclear energy and clean energy sector.
The Taishan Power Station, located in the Chixi Township of Taishan City in southern Guangdong Province, is made up of two reactors, each with an unprecedented capacity of 1,750 megawatts, the most powerful in the world.
Liu Yu, one of TNPJVC's construction managers, took part in the project in 2009. "I studied reactor engineering at the university, so building these third-generation reactors is a lot to me."
And to add: "In the beginning, we simply followed the footsteps of Olkiluoto-3 and Flamanville-3. It was relatively easy, because they have paved the way for us".
However, the situation quickly changed. In 2011, Taishan catches Olkiluoto-3 and Flamanville-3. Nervous, as much as excited, Mr. Liu says: "It was our turn to open the path for them, our European colleagues generously shared their expertise with us, and we had to offer them our help that we could.
Over the past 40 years, China has experienced an exponential growth of its nuclear industry. The mainland of China has more than 40 nuclear units in service, but also the largest number of units under construction in the world.
Guo Ruiting, deputy chief engineer of the construction of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, who had worked at the Daya Bay and Ling'ao power stations, witnessed the construction of these units.
"At first we were the students, and the French engineers were our teachers," recalls Mr. Guo. "But today we are partners". CGN and EDF benefited from their complementarities to seize new development opportunities.
By joining forces, the two giants were able to explore the international nuclear market and work together to build three nuclear projects in the UK.
Gao Ligang, president of CGN Power company, said at a press conference that, from Daya Bay to Hinkley Point C, nuclear power had become an important area of China's openness. CGN will continue to deepen its cooperation with its French partners to work for the development of clean energy in China, but also abroad. F
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