China’s first floating nuclear power plant soon

The reactor, designed to power offshore oil and gas drilling, island development and remote areas, is scheduled to be put into operation in 2019, said China National Nuclear Corporation’s (CNNC) board chairman Sun Qin. 

The CNNC holds all the intellectual property rights of the floating nuclear reactor, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Sun, a deputy to the National People’s Congress as saying, before the opening of the annual legislative session. 

Beijing is at loggerheads with neighbours including Japan and the Philippines over territorial rows in the East and South China Seas, and has alarmed rivals with its massive reclamation and construction of facilities on disputed reefs. 

Currently, China has 30 nuclear power generating units in operation and another 24 units are under construction, all on land. China aims to build 30nuclearpower units in countries involved with its Silk Road initiative by 2030, Sun said. 

China is building two 1000 megawatts nuclear power plants in Karachi at a cost of USD 6.5 billion. More than 70 countries are now planning or are already developing their own nuclear power projects, and it is estimated 130 more nuclear power units will have been built by 2020, Sun said.