Hailed as most successful major infrastructure project ever undertaken in China

Qinshan, China, 2008 October 24 — China’s Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Co. (TQNPC) hosted a celebration ceremony today to mark the 5th Anniversary of the completion of the Qinshan Phase III CANDU nuclear power plant project in Zhejiang Province.

Hailed by China’s President Hu Jintao as a “model for Canada-China cooperation” and the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken between Canada and China, the Qinshan Phase III power plant incorporates two 728 MWe CANDU 6^® pressurized heavy-water reactors designed and built by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL).

AECL, along with its Canadian and international partners and TQNPC, completed the power plant 112 days ahead of schedule and 10.6 per cent under budget.

“The Qinshan Phase III nuclear power plant project is a tremendous example of our CANDU project management model of on-time, on-budget delivery,” said AECL’s President, CANDU Reactor Division, Dr. Ken Petrunik, speaking at the anniversary celebration in Beijing.

“It was at Qinshan that we pioneered new, integrated electronic engineering tools and open-top construction techniques – both of which greatly streamlined and reduced our construction schedule,” stated Dr. Petrunik.

On-time, on-budget delivery is critical to the success of the global nuclear industry as plans for new nuclear builds continue to grow.

“Countries interested in nuclear power should look to the Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant as the model for successful construction and operation of a nuclear facility,” said Dr. Petrunik as he presented TQNPC officials with a congratulatory award. “The Qinshan units have repeatedly achieved record capacity factors resulting in a significant amount of clean, safe electricity generation.”

Dr. Petrunik added, “In preparing for future projects, the skills and expertise gained by AECL during the construction of the Qinshan project provide a solid foundation for deployment of our new ACR-1000.”

Facts About the Qinshan Phase III CANDU Project

• The Qinshan Phase III CANDU nuclear power plant project was officially launched on 8th June 1998;
• Each CANDU unit has a design lifetime of 40 years with an average annual design capacity factor of 85 per cent;
• Qinshan Unit 1 ranks as the best performing reactor in China with a lifetime capacity factor to date of 87.5%;
• Unit 1 was built with the shortest construction period of any nuclear plant in China - 54 months from the first-concrete to full power operation - and began commercial operation 43 days ahead of schedule;
• Unit 2 began commercial operation 112 days ahead of schedule;
• World records for reactor building construction, installation of fuel channels, steam generators and pressurizer were achieved;
• Unit 2 achieved an annual load factor of 99.68 per cent in 2007.
• The two units have generated a total of 47,930 Gigawatt hours of electricity to date.
• The Qinshan CANDU builds created 27,000 person years of work for Canadian nuclear workers.
• The total cost of the project was approximately $4 billion (Cdn), including over $1.5 billion of Canadian goods and services.

About AECL

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full service nuclear technology company providing services to nuclear utilities around the world. Established in 1952, AECL is the designer and builder of CANDU technology including the CANDU 6, one of the world's top-performing reactors. AECL's 4,800 employees deliver cutting edge nuclear services, R&D support, design, and engineering, construction management, specialized technology, refurbishment, waste management and decommissioning in support of CANDU reactor products. More information on AECL and CANDU reactor technology can be found at www.aecl.ca.

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For more information, please contact:

Dale Coffin
Director, Corporate Communications
AECL
(905) 403-7457