The French power giant Electricite de France (EDF) will co-operate with China in all areas of electricity development and help the country's strategy of sustainable development in power generation.

"Our co-operation with China should not only be limited in nuclear energy, but also in hydro-power, clean coal technology, and the supply of electricity to people even in remote areas of the country," said Francois Roussely, chairman and chief executive officer of the biggest European power company. China Daily reported Friday.

He said in an interview in Beijing that EDF will be more active, as the country has spelled out ambitious plans for the use of nuclear energy.

According to the China Atomic Energy Authority, nuclear energy will account for 4 per cent of the total electricity generated by the country in 2020, up from the 2.29 per cent last year, which means China will need to build 27 1,000-megawatt nuclear units in the next 15 years.

Roussely said EDF would help China build a "national team" and allow China to develop and control its own national nuclear industry by transferring its technologies and experience of the past 50 years.

He said that a turn-key approach is not good for a country with huge demand such as China. In this approach, the design and the equipment selection are controlled by contractors and the owners have no access to the design and the equipment suppliers and therefore cannot optimize the performance of the plant.

With the French Architect Engineer (AE) model, the plant owner can control the whole process and build its own competence.

Roussely said he suggested the Chinese Government form one or several nuclear groups by integrating design, operation and procurement organizations here and use the French AE model to build a strong domestic industry.

EDF would be pleased to help and support its small and medium suppliers in China to co-operate with their Chinese counterparts.

The French giant has been invited to join the second phase of the Ling'ao plant, one of the two new nuclear projects approved by the Chinese Government in July.

Sanmen, the other new project, in East China's Zhejiang Province, was reported to launch international bidding this month.

Roussely said EDF had not received detailed bidding requirements, but he said his company would not be interested in supplying a turn-key plant.

On the other hand, EDF has invited Chinese companies to join the construction of next-generation nuclear plants in France, starting with the European pressurized reactor (EPR).

Roussely said EDF aims to renew progressively its 58 nuclear reactors in France and Chinese companies could learn the latest technologies and share their operation experience with EDF and its European partners.

The French giant will also help China in using renewable energies and to raise power generation efficiency.

Source: China Daily