Chinese nuclear firm named world's 5th largest

China's leading clean energy company, China General Nuclear Power Corp. (CGN), is now the world's fifth largest in terms of operating capacity, the company said Tuesday.

Five nuclear power units run by the Shenzhen-based company, which was ranked 8th in 2014, were put into operation in 2015, bringing its total installed nuclear power capacity to 17 gigawatts, said Yuan Changhong, spokesperson for the company, at a news conference.

The company has 12 nuclear power units under construction, with a total capacity of 14.65 gigawatts, or one fifth of the world's total nuclear capacity under construction.

With new energy generation capacity such as solar and wind power, CGN's total installed capacity of operating units reached 31.2 gigawatts, an increase of 33.8 percent year-on-year, said Yuan.

CGN nuclear power plants were in stable operation in 2015, producing 88.3 billion kw to the grid, an increase of 20 percent from 2014, according to nuclear power operation deputy general manager Dai Zhonghua.

China is promoting its third-generation nuclear reactor design, Hualong One, overseas. Two power projects using the technology started construction last year in eastern Fujian and southern Guangxi.

In October, CGN and Electricite de France (EDF) signed a strategic investment agreement to build a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Britain.

CGN and EDF also plan to cooperate on another two British nuclear projects at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex. Bradwell plans to use the Hualong One design after the technology passes British regulatory inspections. Endi