China plans 3rd generation nuclear plant

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Construction of China's first third-generation nuclear plant is set to begin in March, the State Nuclear Power Technology Company announced in Beijing.

SNPTC Board Chairman Wang Binghua said the Sanmen power plant in east China's Zhejiang Province was expected to generate power by August 2013. It also become the world's first AP1000 nuclear plant, Xinhua news service reported.

AP1000 technology, designed by Westinghouse, is an advanced technology approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission but has never been used in any operating power plant.

The construction of the Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province using the same AP1000 technology also will begin later this year.

China has 11 nuclear generating units in operation.