Construction of the first Chinese floating nuclear power plant will begin within 2019, according to Luo Qi, head of the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) of China.
It will be a marine platform equipped with scaled-down nuclear reactors, which can provide electricity and heat to areas with difficult access, such as remote areas, islands, and offshore oil and gas platforms, Luo told the Global Times.
He noted that the floating nuclear platform, which does not take up a lot of space, will not be affected by earthquakes and will create no pollution. The platform will be built by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Gu Jun, the general manager of CNNC, said earlier the corporation is in preparation for a floating nuclear power plant off the coast of East China’s Shandong Province. He did not reveal further details of the project, saying that information including the volume of investment is still unknown.
Media reported in November that the platform will cost 14 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion), and will be put into use in 2021.