A utility company says it has started building China’s first new nuclear power plant since Beijing lifted a moratorium imposed on the industry to review safety following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. The facility in the eastern coastal city of Rongcheng is due to start operation by the end of 2017, the state-owned Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Co said. Japan, Germany and other countries plan to scale back or shut down their nuclear power industries, but China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, sees nuclear power as a key element its efforts to curb surging demand for fossil fuels.—AP