CNG’s floating nuclear power plant will consist of an ACPR50S reactor of their own design. It is a decentralized energy system that meets the highest nuclear security requirements. The whole system includes a small reactor on a floating platform.
According to the Peoples Daily online, CNG has completed the conceptual and program design work and preliminary design work is expected to be completed soon.
There are many advantages to offshore nuclear power plants, among them is the lower operating costs say industry experts. One kilowatt of electricity generated by an offshore nuclear plant costs about 0.9 RMB, while the same amount generated by a diesel-fueled plant for drilling platforms in the Bohai Sea costs 2 RMB.
An offshore floating power plant can have other functions, according to the Manila Bulletin. The desalination of seawater can create an energy supply system providing heat, water and electricity. But the fact that the power plant is mobile is the major reason for its development.
China is saying that the mobile platform can provide electricity to drilling platforms and reefs that are far from the coastline. The floating reactors could also supply electricity to island nations. This is essential to China’s long-range marine strategies.
Back in April 2016, the state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times reported that China plans to build as many as 20 floating nuclear power plants, according to the Bulletin. At the time, the story made quite a splash because it was felt the floating nuclear reactors would be used in accelerating construction of artificial islands and oil rigs in the South China Sea.
The floating nuclear reactor is one of two that were approved earlier this year by China’s National Development and Reform Commission as part of a new five-year plan. Besides CNG’s ACPR50S, China National Nuclear Corporation is approved to build an AC100S reactor, a marine version of its ACP100, which would generate 100 megawatts.
