China's nuclear islands under construction are expected to exceed 30 by the end of 2010, said Mu Zhanying, general manager of China Nuclear Engineering Group Company.
China has had the largest number of nuclear power stations in the world with 24 nuclear islands being built in 2009.
According to government strategy, China's nuclear power installed capacity in operation will reach more than 60 to 70 million kW in 2020. Furthermore, the world's largest single nuclear power unit has been imported in China.
Mu said that in the next few years, six to eight new nuclear power units with a capacity of more than one million kW will be constructed in China every year, and additional six to eight units of the same capacity will be launched to generate power.
Talking about the sudden increase in the volume of projects and the updating technology requirements, Mu expressed confidence that they have acquired full knowledge and skills to build nuclear power stations of more than 1 million kW. "It is not difficult for us to simultaneously build 40 nuclear islands every year", he said.
According to the international standards, the average design working life of a nuclear island is about 45 years. But it is possible for Chinese nuclear power stations to work for 60 years if they get prompt and regular maintenance, according to Mu.
Mu said that many counterparts in France, the United States, Canada, Russia and other countries have expressed their willingness to cooperate with China to develop the international market together.
Nuclear islands are the nuclear part of a power plant that generates the steam for use by conventional power generators.
