China has yet to decide an exact date for issuing tenders of its
four new nuclear power generators, but the winner is at this stage
very likely to be either US-based Westinghouse Electric Co Ltd, or
French company Areva, or Russian firm AtomStroyExport
(ASE).??
"The tender documents and proposals have already been approved
by the State Council, and now we have presented them to the
National Development and Reform Commission for final approval,"
said Yu Jianfeng, director of the Nuclear Power Department of China
National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), which is working to offer the
tender.
There's no specific timetable for the bidding yet, Yu added.
This is the country's first bidding for nuclear power projects that
is open to foreign companies.
China is expected to invite foreign companies only to bid for
four 1,000-megawatt pressurized-water nuclear power facilities by
the end of this year.
The winner will be in charge of the design and construction of
the four generators, two located in Sanmen, east China's Zhejiang
Province and the other two in Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong
Province.
Several foreign companies including Westinghouse, Areva, ASE,
Japan's Mitsubishi, France's Alstom, and the Atomic Energy of
Canada Ltd, have been scrambling for the multi-billion dollar
contracts.
Yu said: "The winner should be either Westinghouse, Areva or
ASE."
Yu said China wants to adopt the latest, third-generation
reactor technology, which it has been unable to develop itself.
France-based Areva, which has been promoting its
third-generation reactor technology built by its Famatone
subsidiary, seems confident.
"We are very well prepared," Reme de Preneuf, chief
representative of Areva for nuclear business in China, told
China Business Weekly last week.
"We do not know the precise requirements, but we are in a fairly
good position," he said.
Areva has won the contract to build a third-generation reactor,
called the European Pressurized Reactor, in Finland, the first and
so far the only one of its kind in the world, said de Preneuf.
To date, Areva has built more than 70 reactors worldwide, and
continuous improvements in its nuclear power technology have made
it possible for Areva to provide evolutionary designs, which its
competitors do not have, he said.
Moreover, the electricity generated by Areva-designed reactors
is quite cost-competitive, "and that's why the Finnish company has
chosen us," he said.
According to Yu, the bidders should offer cost-competitive
designs, regarding both construction and daily operation.
The electricity price of nuclear power should be close to that
of thermal power -- only slightly higher, Yu said.
He refused to comment on the expected total investment.
The official budget of each generator is usually between
US$1.5-2.0 billion.
Compared with its US counterparts, which have no nuclear deals
in China, Areva has richer experience, said de Preneuf.
"We have a long-term cooperation with China and know about local
needs fairly well," he said.
Areva has transferred its technologies to between 14 and 20
Chinese nuclear power facilities producers so far. Its technology
has been adopted in reactors in Ling'ao and Dayawan, both in south
China's Guangdong Province, and in the Qinshan phase II units, in
east China's Zhejiang Province.
According to Yu, the bidders must not only be capable of
designing and constructing nuclear power generators with the new
technology, but help promote the country's domestic nuclear power
industry through cooperation.
The Chinese government has been attaching great importance to
self-reliance in the industry.
Apart from that, the French government has been providing
continuous support for Areva's nuclear technology export, noted de
Preneuf.
In contrast, US-based leading nuclear power company Westinghouse
has no presence in China, as the US government has been restricting
exports of nuclear technology to China.
This was the case until earlier this year, when US Vice
President Dick Cheney made a pitch for Westinghouse during his
three-day visit to China.
If Westinghouse could get the deal, it would help narrow the
huge US trade deficit with China -- about US$113 billion last year,
and create thousands of jobs in the United States.
Earlier reports said Westinghouse was pinning its hopes on the
1,100 megawatt AP 1000 reactor, with an initial installment cost of
US$1.5 billion per unit.
Westinghouse was unavailable for comment.
According to Yu, construction of the next-generation generator
designed by Westinghouse takes 48 months, shorter than the average
time-span of 60 months.
ASE was also unavailable for comment.
It is believed that winning the first deal is vital to vendors,
as China has indicated it will adopt a unified, standardized design
across its nuclear industry and drop the existing combined
technology of France, Canada, Japan and Russia.
Chinese officials estimate that by 2020 the country will need an
additional installation capacity of 32,000 megawatts from the
nuclear industry, or about 32 new reactors.
China currently has nine operating reactors, with a total
nuclear power capacity of 7,010 megawatts by the end of July.
That accounts for only 1.6 percent of the country's total
installation capacity of power plants.
Even with the surge in reactor construction, nuclear power will
contribute only 4 percent of China's electricity output by 2020,
far below the average among countries with nuclear power plants --
17 percent.
(China Daily September 12, 2004)