The power shortages in about two-thirds of China's provinces
last year led the government to decide to more than double nuclear
power generation by the end of 2020. To meet that goal, it will
establish a new nuclear power technology enterprise.
A shift from coal-fired plants to nuclear power will also help
reduce air pollution in China, the world's second-largest power
consumer.
The Preparatory Office of the State Nuclear Power Technology
Corporation (SNPTC) opened in September under the direct authority
of the State Nuclear Power Self-reliance Leading Committee.
Nuclear power is considered integral to sustaining China's
economic growth in the coming decades.
Chen Zhaobo, the project chief appointed by the State Council,
said that the preparatory office will set up the corporation,
organize tenders, conduct technology transfers and negotiate
contracts for nuclear power projects.
"We are busy preparing for two new reactors, composed of four
units, in Guangdong
and Zhejiang,"
Chen told China Daily.
The initial goal of the first two projects is to shore up
China's ability to independently design, build and operate
third-generation pressurized water reactors.
"Those will become part of our own technology to develop our
nuclear power blueprint," said Chen.
Still, he said, China plans to continue working with its
partners to promote nuclear power.
China currently has nine operating reactors with a combined
capacity of 6,450 megawatts. Together, they account for 1.4 percent
of the country's total power supply.
However, even with the new focus on reactor construction,
nuclear power will only account for 4 percent of China's
electricity output by 2020, analysts estimate. The average among
countries with nuclear power plants is 17 percent.
The government will expand international nuclear safety
cooperation and strengthen supervision to guarantee safe operation
of its nuclear installations.
State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA)?Minister Xie
Zhenhua announced in October, at the anniversary of the founding of
the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), that no major
incidents had taken place at China's nuclear installations in the
20 years since the NNSA's founding.
He added that radioactive elements in China's atmosphere, soil
and surface and ground water are well within safety standards.
China became a signatory to the International Convention on
Nuclear Safety in September 1994. The convention requires
participating states operating land-based nuclear power plants to
maintain a high level of safety by setting international
benchmarks.
China's aggregate energy consumption now ranks second in the
world, accounting for 11 percent of the world total, according to
Wu Guihui, vice director of the Energy Bureau of the National
Development and Reform Commission.
(China Daily, China.org.cn December 14, 2004)