EDF will hold 30% of Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company (TNPC) for a period of 50 years, which is the maximum permitted for a joint venture in China.
Preliminary work at the Taishan-1 site started in late 2007 and the first concrete pouring is scheduled for autumn 2009, less than two years after the one at Flamanville-3. Some contracts have already been signed with Areva and Alstom for the supply of nuclear and turbine equipment.
The first unit is expected to be commissioned at the end of 2013 and the second will go on line in 2015. At the height of construction work, over 60 EDF experts will be on-site at Taishan.
Concurrent to the creation of the joint venture, the two groups also concluded a technical assistance contract under which EDF will share its know-how by providing skilled personnel and technical documentation.
Pierre Gadonneix, EDF’s chairman and CEO, said: These agreements strengthen a position of 25 years in China in partnership with several Chinese operators, in particular the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company. Through this stage, EDF further implements its strategy to be a leader in nuclear energy revival worldwide, as an investor and an operator, possibly beside local operators.
