BEIJING, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - A power unit built using Russian know-how at a nuclear power plant in China will start generating electricity in the near future, an official said Friday.
"The first unit [at the Tianwan NPP] will start generating electricity soon," said Alexander Krykov, a spokesperson for Atomstroiexport, Russia's nuclear machinery export monopoly.
Kryukov said that construction delays were due to the unique nature of the unit, which he said was the most advanced in the world. He added that the generator would be at commercial generating capacity by yearend.
"The second unit will become operational in the fall of 2006 and will start producing electricity in the beginning of 2007," he said.
Tianwan NPP, located in Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, is a major link in China's nuclear program, with an estimated annual electricity output of 14 billion kWh. The plant is running the Russian ASE-91 unit, an advanced model based on the older WWER-1000/320 series.
Russia and China signed a contract for construction of two reactors at the Tianwan NPP in December 1997.
Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency head Sergei Kiriyenko said recently that Russia had a good chance of being awarded contracts to provide additional reactors for the plant.
