China’s State Council has approved the merger of leading Chinese nuclear power companies China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC) and State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC).
The new company will be named State Power Investment Corporation, and will be chaired by Wang Binghua.
SNPTC was founded in 2007 as the national body responsible for transfer of generation III nuclear power technology into China and is responsible for the development of the CAP1400, a Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000.
China Power Investment Corporation is one of China’s leading independent power producers, with an installed capacity of over 90GW. It is also one of the country’s three authorized nuclear plant developers. CPIC’s key nuclear project is two AP1000 units at Haiyang in which it has a 65% stake, but it also has smaller shares in projects at Qinshan and Tianwan.
Combining the technology and operational capabilities of CPIC and SNPTC, the merger will increase competition between China’s three major nuclear corporations in both domestic and international markets.
The two other key players in the Chinese nuclear sector, China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) are also reportedly considering a merger.
Photo: Haiyang project (Credit: CPIC)
