New Chinese nuclear plant to open in 2016

JI'NAN - A nuclear power plant in east China's Shandong Province is expected to go into operation in 2016, the local power company said on Tuesday.

The conventional islands of the project's first stage, located in the city of Haiyang, are being installed and are expected to be put into use in two years, according to Yantai State Grid Corporation. A conventional island contains equipment which changes steam heat into electricity.

The Haiyang Nuclear Station, with a total investment of 80 billion yuan (13 billion US dollars), will eventually have six reactor units.

The first stage includes two AP1000 reactor units with power capacity of 1.25 million KW each. The plan for the second stage includes another two units of the same capacity.