CNNC and Exelon agree to cooperate
Subsidiaries of Exelon and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation, effectively making Exelon the preferred nuclear service provider for the Chinese nuclear giant.
The memorandum signed last week between CNNC's Nuclear Power Company (known as CNNP) and Exelon Nuclear Partners anticipates service support agreements to be signed by 30 June and potentially marks the beginning of long term cooperation between the two companies.
In coming months CNNP representatives will visit Exelon facilities where they will explore possible opportunities for cooperation. According to an Exelon statement, CNNP is particularly interested in entering into information exchanges on business planning and performance management processes. This could include benchmarking in areas such as outage management, cost control and operational experience.
With 17 reactors at ten plants, Exelon is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the USA. It is one of the world's best performing nuclear operators, with an average fleet wide capacity factor of over of 93% – something that it partly credits to its carefully developed central management strategy. CNNC currently operates six nuclear reactors in China but has plans for dramatic near term expansion, with 34 units it is involved with either firmly planned or under construction.
A spokesman for CNNC said: "We look forward to learning from Exelon Nuclear Partners' deep experience in managing nuclear power plant operations, and integrating some of their globally-recognized best practices into our own operations. Matching our commitment to nuclear power development with Exelon's operating experience and expertise will be a win-win situation for both organizations in securing safe nuclear plant operations."
Exelon is not the first foreign nuclear company to provide nuclear support services to Chinese plants. French utility Electricité de France (EdF) has a long running arrangement with the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) for the sharing of operational experiences in French plants built in Daya Bay and Ling Ao. EdF is also part of a joint venture with CGNPG to build, own and operate the first set of two EPR reactors being built in Taishan.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
