EDF of France in joint venture with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp to build two reactors in Guangdong province
France, a country that gets 80% of its power from nuclear sources, is exporting its nuclear expertise to the fastest-growing Asian nation.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France hailed the announcement that two nuclear reactors will be constructed in China by EDF of France. The pact is the culmination of talks that began in the fall of 2007, when Electricite de France and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company signed a joint venture agreement for the ownership, construction and operation of two new-generation European pressurized reactors at Taishan in the province of Guangdong, China. The newly-formed Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Limited, or TNPC, will construct the next-generation power stations.
The business arrangement between France and China comes at a time when tensions have been fanned by protests in France and elsewhere over China’s handling of Tibet. The Olympic torch’s progress through France was disrupted by protests, prompting Chinese to boycott French superstore Carrefour, all as China is in the world’s spotlight because of the Beijing Olympic Games. By compartmentalizing business and politics, Sarkozy hopes to keep a running dialogue going between France and China, while acknowledging the business reality that China is booming, and France should not be left out.
Sarkozy was quoted in French newspapers as saying that the agreement “demonstrates the quality of the Franco-Chinese partnership in the civilian nuclear sector” and that the deal “consolidates France’s status as China’s primary partner in the sector.”
Electricite de France wants to be the leader in nuclear power worldwide, and was already well on its way before the China deal. The French power company will control about one third of the French-Chinese nuclear partnership TNCP for 50 years. Areva, the France-owned nuclear manufacturer, will provide the nuclear equipment for the two facilities, while another French company, Alstom SA, will provide the turbine equipment. The Chinese company, meanwhile, will be responsible for providing the building site and will make its engineering and operational capabilities available. The two nuclear power facilities in China will be modeled on already successful plants operating in France.
It seems that Sarkozy’s 1000-megawatt diplomatic style has not dimmed, and his energy-export policy may yet light the way toward patching things up between France and China.
