Chapter 26 23. China's future nuclear energy

Relative to other energy sectors, China's nuclear program began in the 1950s under Mao Zedong.Like many other countries, its purpose is also for military use. And in the spring of 2011, the nuclear disaster in Japan made us worry about the "worst-case scenario."The impact of this disaster far exceeds that of Chernobyl, and the debate about the nuclear industry and its safety has only just begun.There is no doubt that all countries, including China, must rebuild confidence in nuclear power after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan. Currently, China has 13 nuclear reactors that can provide a total of 10.8 GW of electricity.The next decade will be a period of accelerated development in the field.

By accelerating investment in nuclear energy, China hopes to have 70 GW to 80 GW of power generation capacity by 2020. China's State Council of Commerce has approved 34 nuclear reactors totaling 3,692 MW, of which 25 are under construction, providing 2,772 MW of power.Its construction scale is the largest in the world. China wants to build a fuel plant, so it has a plan for civilian nuclear power plants, with 40 to 60 nuclear power plants expected to be built by 2020. It now appears that nuclear power plants only provide 2% to 3% of China's huge energy needs.And China will invest 50 billion euros in nuclear energy, and this proportion will at least double to 6% in 10 years.

Even though China has accelerated the development of its nuclear industry, we are still a long way from France, where there are 58 production facilities scattered in 15 regions, providing more than 87% of EDF's electricity. Over the years, EDF has played an important role in China's nuclear power development. In the technical and trade competition for the world market, China, France and South Korea will join in the construction of six power plants in South Africa with a total budget of about 1.3 billion euros. China's scoring points are in the third generation of nuclear power plants.A nuclear power plant in Sanmen County, East China's Zhejiang Province, has just received a new generation of CA01 reactors.Another, larger nuclear power plant is under consideration.

China's goal: to export Chinese-branded nuclear power plants built by Chinese nuclear power companies, including the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group. The group plans to spend 66 billion euros over the next decade to develop the business.At the same time, France's AREVA Group and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group are committed to long-term cooperation in the new era of civil nuclear energy and to strengthen mutual ties. Ouyang Yu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that China will develop its own technology for the third generation of nuclear reactors, which will be safer and more economical than the second generation.

China will become increasingly independent in the field of nuclear energy, especially in terms of imported technology.By 2020, future nuclear reactors will rely on China's technological development to move forward! China recently announced that it has found a way to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to generate energy again.The China National Nuclear Corporation said that China has found a way to convert nuclear waste into energy, something only a few countries in the world can do.Thanks to this technology, China was able to guarantee self-sufficiency for centuries! According to China Central Television, this technology allows the reuse of spent nuclear fuel: "If the proven reserves of uranium in China last only 50 to 70 years, thanks to this discovery, this period has been extended to 3,000 years."

By 2015, only Guangdong Province, the concentrated area of ​​China's nuclear power plants, will invest 1.13 billion euros in the development of emerging industries! These include nuclear power facilities, new energy vehicles, photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation. In 2020, China's nuclear power generation capacity will reach 70 million to 80 million kilowatts, which is expected to account for 7% of China's total electricity.