Top marks for milestone power plant - 30 years on

Completed in 1994, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant marks its 30th anniversary this year as the mainland's first commercial nuclear power station.

It also marked a milestone in Hong Kong's development of nuclear energy.

In 1985, the former CLP Power's owner, the late British businessman Lawrence Kadoorie, met then-China leader Deng Xiaoping and both expressed their desire to commission the first reactor in 1992.

CLP managing director Joseph Law Ka-chun said it was also the earliest, largest and most successful joint-venture project under China's reform and opening-up policy since the late 1970s, as it cost a third of the country's foreign exchange reserves at that time.

"It was the first time China built a nuclear energy power plant. So, during the 1980s, authorities had sent people to receive nuclear energy-related training in the United States," Law said.

"The cost was about US$260,000 [HK$2.03 million] for each person sent at that time. These nuclear energy talent were called 'Gold Men' back then since the amount to send them to study was equal to the price of 60 kilograms of gold."

However, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine in April 1986 incited controversy and led to objections from prominent politicians in Hong Kong.

More than a million Hongkongers signed a petition to oppose the construction of the Daya Bay nuclear plant.

A nuclear safety consultative committee was formed in 1988 to enhance the public's awareness of nuclear energy, Law said.

He added that the London-based World Association of Nuclear Operators has consistently given favorable assessments of Daya Bay's management, operation and safety.

In February 2017, CLP and City University set up a Low Carbon Energy Education Centre in the school's Kowloon Tong campus to promote public education.

"In the education center, we introduced thoroughly to visitors what nuclear energy is and the technology behind nuclear power generation, as well as the safety measures behind it. There is also a model of a nuclear power unit," Law said.

He added that through the years they have invited international experts and held seminars and talks to educate the public on nuclear energy.

Law also said that with the surging development of artificial intelligence, the city is expected to see 18 data centers completed in the next five years.