China's Fourth-Gen Nuclear Reactors to Start Up by Next Year
Xu Wei
DATE:  Apr 02 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China's Fourth-Gen Nuclear Reactors to Start Up by Next Year China's Fourth-Gen Nuclear Reactors to Start Up by Next Year

(Yicai Global) April 1 -- China is accelerating the implementation of science and technology projects in the field of fourth-generation nuclear power and is demonstrating high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.

They are in the final stage of installation and debugging and construction will be completed and start operation by the first half of next year, China Securities Journal reported, citing China Nuclear Energy Association Chairman Yu Jianfeng, who spoke recently at the China Nuclear Energy Sustainable Development Forum.

At the end of last month, the number of nuclear power units in operation in China was 45, with installed capacity of 45.9 million kilowatts and electricity generation of 294.4 billion kWh, ranking it third in the world, Yu said.

The number of third-generation nuclear power units that began working or are under construction has reached 10, accounting for more than a third of the world's total for such units. They are in good operational state and their general security level is upgraded annually.

A total of eight units have been built and put into action since last year, and another 11 are being constructed. China has been a world leader in the number of units under construction for many years, Yu said.

No projects have been waiting for approval since December 2015. The No.1 unit of Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant in Fujian province, and the No.1 unit of Taiping Mountain Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province will begin construction work in June, according to two environmental impact assessments the Ministry of Ecology and Environment made public on March 18. Outsiders have taken this as a sign of the nuclear power industry's recovery.

China will continue to develop nuclear power by guaranteeing its safety, Liu Hua, vice environment minister and head of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, said at the forum.

Under the 13th five-year plan, the capacity of China's nuclear power plants that will be in operation will be 30 million kilowatts; the capacity of plants that start construction will be more than 30 million kilowatts; and the installed one will reach 58 million kilowatts in 2020, which means about six to eight nuclear power units are expected to start construction every year.

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Nuclear Power