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Chinese power operator says nuke station working fine after reports of leak
CNN reported that the US govt has been assessing a report of a leak at China General Nuclear Power Group in Taishan, Guangdong province.
Top Chinese government-run nuclear power operator has said its operations at a station in south China meet safety regulations.
This comes at a time when CNN had reported that the US government had spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in Taishan in Guangdong province, China’s most populous province.
The report followed after Framatome, a French company that partly owns the plant warned of an “imminent radiological threat”.
State-run CGN, however, said it was operating within safety parameters. “Two reactors have since the start of commercial operations been operating according to nuclear safety rules and regulations; currently, regular monitoring data shows the Taishan station and its surrounding environment meet normal parameters,” news agency Reuters, reported, quoting a CGN statement.
Hindustan Times has reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry for a comment on the issue.
CGN claims to be “…the largest nuclear power operator in China and the largest nuclear power constructor worldwide”.
Taishan plant runs two reactors - with reactor No 2 resumed generating power on June 10 following a major overhaul, and reactor No1 currently operating at full capacity, CGN said.
The Taishan project is led by TNPJVC, a joint-venture founded by CGN (51%), Electricite de France (EDF) (30%) and the Chinese utility Guangdong Energy Group (19%).
The EDF Group and its subsidiary Framatome supplied the EPR technology for the plant.
Areva, the designer of the new reactor, is now known as Framatome, which is 75.5% owned by EDF.
The Reuters report said the plant incorporates “…the so-called third-generation European pressurised water reactor technology”.
Framatome said to AFP that it is “supporting resolution of a performance issue” at the plant. “According to the data available, the plant is operating within the safety parameters,” the company said, adding: “Our team is working with relevant experts to assess the situation and propose solutions to address any potential issue.”
A third-generation nuclear power unit of a China-France joint venture, it began operations in 2019.
“The No 2 unit at the Taishan nuclear power plant will be the world’s second third-generation European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear power unit,” CGN was quoted as saying by Chinese state media at the time.
The No 1 unit was put into commercial use in December, 2018.
“The Taishan nuclear power plant, the largest Sino-French project in the energy field, uses the EPR for its No 1 and No 2 power units, with a unit capacity of 1.75 million kilowatts each,” Xinhua news agency said in a report earlier.
