The Russian state atomic energy agency Rosatom has signed over control of the number two nuclear reactor at an atomic power station on China's eastern coast, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
Atomstroiexport, Rosatom's building contractor arm, has built two 1.075-gigawatt reactors in Tianwan, in Jiangsu province, in a $1.6 billion project led by state-run China National Nuclear Corp. The first reactor began commercial operation in May, and the second of the four planned units came on line in July after missing an earlier target of late 2006.
China plans to install 40,000 gigawatts of nuclear power generating capacity by 2020, an investment of $50 billion in 30 reactors across the country, to fuel the energy demands of its expanding economy. The turn-key operation at Tianwan was hampered by cracks in pipes at steam generators in plant No 1, took months to fix, and brought in closer scrutiny from China's nuclear safety bureau. The cracks posed little danger but lowered generating capacity, a senior industry official familiar with the Tianwan operations said at the time.
Russia initially denied there were delays, pointing to final testing procedures, and on Wednesday said that the handover marks the beginning of a guaranteed two-year period of operation at plant No 2. "This means that all of Atomstroiexport's contractual obligations in constructing the first phase of the Tianwan power station are complete," a Rosatom spokesman told reporters.