Chinese hydropower firm to invest in nuclear sector

China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), the country's largest hydropower provider, will enter the nuclear power sector following an agreement with China National Nuclear Corporation, according to a company statement.

Under the strategic cooperation agreement signed on Aug. 22, the two companies will jointly invest in domestic nuclear power projects as well as research and development of new nuclear technologies, according to a statement from China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., a CTGC affiliate and its sole platform for nuclear power investment, reported Xinhua.

The two companies agreed to promote the inland Taohuajiang nuclear plant in central China's Hunan Province, which has yet to kick off construction. It has a planned investment of 67 billion yuan ($10.9 billion) and an installed capacity of 5 million kilowatts.

The CTGC's entrance into the nuclear sector will supplement its current hydropower-only business structure and is expected to improve its medium- and long-term earnings growth expectations, according to the statement.

CTGC runs the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project, which generated 82.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2013, accounting for 1.55 percent of the country's gross power generation.