Thai power company buys into Fangchenggang II

Monday, 25 January 2016

Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding (Ratch) has agreed to take a stake in the two Hualong One reactors being built as Phase II of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi province.

The signing of the equity joint venture contract (Image: CGN)

The company - Thailand's largest private power company - announced on 22 January that it had earlier signed the equity joint venture contract with China General Nuclear (CGN) and Guangxi Investment Group for establishing Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power (II) Company Limited. The joint venture will develop, construct and operate Phase II (units 3 and 4) of the Fangchenggang plant.

Under the agreement, signed on 23 December, Ratch - through its Ratch China Power Limited subsidiary - will take a 10% stake in the project. Currently, CGN holds 61% of the project with Guangxi Investment holding the remaining 39%.

The project is valued at CNY40 billion ($6 billion), according to Ratch. The company said it will invest THB7.5 billion ($208 million) in the project over the next five years under a 30-year power purchase contract.

Ratch CEO Rum Herabat: "CGN's world-class expertise and experience in nuclear power, with an integrated range of nuclear power services, is a major factor in Ratch's investment decision making." He added, "Additionally, Ratch takes into an account the social and environmental benefits that support our decision making."

Herabat noted, "It is an opportunity for Thai technical personnel in developing and enhancing their skills and experience by sharing nuclear-related knowledge and techniques with CGN, which has more than 30 years of expertise in this field. CGN's achievements and experience in low-carbon environment management is another area for learning because it is important for dealing with the climate change issue."

Ratch is an independent power producer with the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand as its majority stakeholder.

Thailand's National Energy Policy Council commissioned a feasibility study for a nuclear power plant in the country and in 2007 approved a Power Development Plan for 2007-2021, including the construction of 4000 MWe of nuclear generating capacity, starting up in 2020-21. In the new Power Development Plan 2010-30, which was approved in 2010, there is 5000 MWe envisaged, with 1000 MWe units starting up over 2020-28.

Construction of the first two units at the Fangchenggang plant began in July 2010. Unit 1 was connected to the electricity grid on 25 October and met commercial operating conditions earlier this month. Fangchenggang 2 is scheduled to begin operating later this year.

A total of six reactors are planned to operate there. Units 1 and 2 are both CPR-1000s, units 3 and 4 are planned to be based on Hualong One reactors, and units 5 and 6 are to be AP1000s. All of these are models of large pressurized water reactors.

First concrete for Fangchenggang 3 was poured on 24 December, with construction of unit 4 scheduled to begin later this year. The two units will be the reference plant for the proposed Bradwell B plant in the UK.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News