China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) (), formerly China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (), is a Chinese state-owned energy corporation
under the
SASAC of the
State Council.
In China, CGN operates nuclear plants at
Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant
Daya Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant located in Daya Bay in Longgang District, along the eastern extremity of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; and to the north east of Hong Kong. Daya Bay has two 944 MWe PWR nuclear reactors based ...
,
Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant
Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant () is located on the Dapeng Peninsula in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, about 60 km north of Hong Kong, 1 km north of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant. It is operated by China General Nuclear Pow ...
,
Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant
The Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant (红沿河核电站) is located in Donggang Town, Wafangdian in Liaoning Province of China.
The site is within the Prefecture-level city of Dalian, north of Dalian City proper.
The first unit started commerci ...
and
Ningde Nuclear Power Plant, with five new nuclear power stations under construction and another two planned.
[ CGN operates in wind energy and solar energy, as well as hydroelectricity. CGN operates power generation plant of the following capacities: nuclear 8.3 GW, wind 4.7 GW, hydro 4.0 GW and solar 600 MW.]
History
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co., Ltd. (CGNPC) was established in September 1994 with a registered capital of RMB 10.2 billion with nuclear power as its core business. With CGNPC as its core enterprise, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) comprises more than twenty wholly owned or controlling subsidiaries.
In April 2009, a fund run by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group signed a deal raising US$1.03 billion for nuclear and related energy projects. Guangdong Nuclear's fund, the first industrial fund set up by a state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
with approval from the State Council signed the fund-raising agreement with Bank of China
The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world.
The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, rep ...
, China Development Bank
The China Development Bank (CDB) () is a development bank in the People's Republic of China (PRC), led by a cabinet minister at the Governor level, under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. As one of three policy banks in China, it ...
and other institutions, which will become shareholders in the fund. The financing is the first of two phases for the fund, which plans to raise a total of 10 billion yuan.
In May 2013, the organization changed its name to China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) to signify that its operations extend beyond Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
province.
In December 2014, CGN raised $3 billion by an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
(IPO) in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
.
In December 2014, the firm announced it was acquiring three wind farms in the UK with a combined capacity of 73 megawatts from British energy company EDF Energy
EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses through ...
for a fee estimated to be in the region of £100 million.
In November 2015, the company and its subsidiaries agreed to acquire 1Malaysia Development Berhad
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB; ) is an insolvent Malaysian strategic development company, wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated).
1MDB was established to drive strategic initiatives for long-term economic development ...
's energy assets, worth around $2.3 billion. The transaction was part of the wider 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, describes a corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was ...
which resulted in billions of dollars being stolen from the Government of Malaysia
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malays ...
and the arrest of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malay ...
for corruption and fraud
In 2016, the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
charged CGN with stealing nuclear secrets from the United States. The ''Guardian'' reported: "According to the US Department of Justice, the FBI has discovered evidence that China General Nuclear Power (CGN) has been engaged in a conspiracy to steal US nuclear secrets stretching back almost two decades. Both CGN and one of the corporation’s senior advisers, Szuhsiung Ho, have been charged with conspiring to help the Chinese government develop nuclear material in a manner that is in clear breach of US law."
U.S. sanctions
In August 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added CGN to its Entity List
The Entity List is a trade restriction list published by the United States Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), consisting of certain foreign persons, entities, or governments. Entities on the Entity List are subject to ...
, barring U.S. companies from selling products to CGN. In its reasoning, the United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...
claimed (without providing evidence) that CGN attempted to acquire advanced U.S. nuclear technology to divert to military uses in China". The Chinese state-owned ''China Daily
''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. ...
'' said that, "The real aim is to try to thwart the country’s 'Made in China 2025
Made in China 2025 ()[Made in China 2025](_blank)
. CSIS, June 1, 2015. (MIC25, MIC 2025, or ...
' and was part of the US-China trade war". In September 2021, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began opera ...
suspended shipments of nuclear materials to CGN on national security grounds.
Reactor designs
CGN's first nuclear station uses reactors designed and built by the French National Company, Framatome, specifically the M310 plants at Daya Bay Plant.
CPR-1000
On the basis of the M310, CGN developed an improved Generation II pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...
called CPR-1000. CPR-1000 takes a large proportion in all the reactors being built in China. The M310 uses as its base design units 5 & 6 of the Gravelines Nuclear Power Station
The Gravelines Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant located near the commune of Gravelines in Nord, France, approximately from Dunkerque and Calais. Its cooling water comes from the North Sea. The plant consists of 6 nuclear reactor ...
in France.
The CPR-1000 has a 1086 MWe capacity, a three-loop design and 157 fuel assemblies (active length 12ft), enriched to 4.5% U-235. The fuel assembly design is AREVA's 17x17 AFA 3G M5, which can be fabricated in China. Other features include has a design life that could extend beyond 40 years and an 18-month fuel cycle. It has a digital instrumentation and control system, and is equipped with hydrogen recombiners and containment spray pumps.
Some CPR-1000 intellectual property rights are retained by Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
, which limits overseas sales potential.
ACPR-1000
In 2010, CGNPG announced a further design evolution to a Generation III level, the ACPR-1000, which would also replace intellectual property right-limited components from the CPR-1000.
CGNPG aimed to be able to independently market the ACPR-1000 for export by 2013. CGNPG has been conducting the development work in cooperation with Dongfang Electric, Shanghai Electric, Harbin Electric, China First Heavy Industries and China Erzhong
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
The core of the ACPR1000 comprises 157 fuel assemblies (active length 14ft) and has a design life of 60 years. Other features include a core catcher and double containment as additional safety measures and ten major technical improvements over its predecessor the CPR-1000. It was the first Chinese reactor to have a domestically developed digital control system.
Hualong One
In 2012, central planners in Beijing directed China General Nuclear (CGN) and the other large nuclear builder and operator, CNNC to 'rationalise' their Generation III reactor
Generation III reactors, or Gen III reactors, are a class of nuclear reactors designed to succeed Generation II reactors, incorporating evolutionary improvements in design. These include improved fuel technology, higher thermal efficiency, sign ...
design programs. This meant CGN's ACPR1000 and CNNC's ACP1000, both of which were based on the French Generation II M310, were 'merged' into one standardised design - the Hualong One
The Hualong One ( zh , c=华龙一号 , p=Huálóng yī hào , l=China Dragon №1) is a Chinese Generation III pressurized water nuclear reactor jointly developed by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and the China National Nuclear C ...
. After the merger, both companies retain their own supply chain and their versions of the Hualong One will differ slightly (units built by CGN will retain some features from the ACPR1000) but the design is considered to be standardised. Some 85% of its components will be made domestically.
The Hualong One power output will be 1170 MWe gross, 1090 MWe net, with a 60-year design life, and would use a combination of passive and active safety systems with a double containment. It has a 177 assembly core design with an 18-month refuelling cycle. The power plant's utilisation rate is as high as 90%. CNNC has said its active and passive safety systems, double-layer containment and other technologies meet the highest international safety standards.
Hualong Two
CNNC plans to start building Hualong Two by 2024. It will be a more economical version using similar technology, taking a year less to build with about a quarter less in construction costs.
EPR
In November 2007, CGN signed a contract with Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
to build Taishan nuclear station with Areva's EPR, making the company among the first to build a nuclear station with generation III reactor
Generation III reactors, or Gen III reactors, are a class of nuclear reactors designed to succeed Generation II reactors, incorporating evolutionary improvements in design. These include improved fuel technology, higher thermal efficiency, sign ...
s.
Nuclear stations
Operating stations:
#Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant
Daya Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant located in Daya Bay in Longgang District, along the eastern extremity of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; and to the north east of Hong Kong. Daya Bay has two 944 MWe PWR nuclear reactors based ...
,
#Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant
Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant () is located on the Dapeng Peninsula in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, about 60 km north of Hong Kong, 1 km north of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant. It is operated by China General Nuclear Pow ...
,
# Ningde Nuclear Power Plant phase I,
#Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant
The Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant (红沿河核电站) is located in Donggang Town, Wafangdian in Liaoning Province of China.
The site is within the Prefecture-level city of Dalian, north of Dalian City proper.
The first unit started commerci ...
phase I,
#Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station
The Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station (YNPS; ) is a nuclear power plant in Guangdong province, China. The site is Dongping Town, Yangjiang City in western Guangdong Province.
The station has six 1,000 megawatt (MW) CPR-1000 pressurized water ...
,
#Taishan Nuclear Power Plant
The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant in Taishan, Guangdong province, China.
The plant features two operational EPR reactors.
The first unit, Taishan 1, entered commercial service in December 2018, but was shut down from J ...
,
Under construction: Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant
The Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant (红沿河核电站) is located in Donggang Town, Wafangdian in Liaoning Province of China.
The site is within the Prefecture-level city of Dalian, north of Dalian City proper.
The first unit started commerci ...
phase II, Ningde Nuclear Power Plant phase II,
Planned: Lufeng Nuclear Power Plant, Xianning Nuclear Power Plant
The Xianning Nuclear Power Plant (), also named Dafan Nuclear Power Plant (大畈核电站), is planned in Dafan Town, Tongshan County, Xianning, Hubei Province, China. It is planned to host at least four 1,250-megawatt (MW) AP1000 pressurize ...
(entering early construction), Wuhu Nuclear Power Plant and Jiangsu's Second Nuclear Power ProjectNexans awarded 9 million Euro cable contract for China’s Tianwan nuclear power plant
. ''Nexans'' (26 September 2013, Paris). Retrieved 19 May 2014
See also
*
Nuclear power in China
China is one of the world's largest producers of nuclear power. The country ranks third in the world both in total nuclear power capacity installed and electricity generated, accounting for around one tenth of global nuclear power generated. N ...
References
External links
China General Nuclear Power Group
{{Portal bar, China, Energy, Companies, Nuclear technology
Nuclear power companies of China
Governmental nuclear organizations
Energy companies established in 1994
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1994
Government-owned companies of China
Defence companies of the People's Republic of China
Chinese companies established in 1994