2 Aug (NucNet): China’s fleet of 38 commercial nuclear power reactor units generated 129.9 billion kWh of electricity in the first six months of 2018, accounting for 4.07% of the country’s generation mix, figures from the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association show.
According to the association, the figure represents an increase of 12.52% over the same period in 2017. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the share for 2017 was 3.94%.
From April to June 2018, generation from commercial nuclear power units peaked again, reaching 68.9 billion kWh and accounting for 4.26% of the total electricity generation.
From January to June 2018, nuclear plants were online for an average of 3,546 hours and the average load factor was 81.64%. According to IAEA the average load factor for nuclear plants worldwide in 2017 was 73%.
According to the association, there were no events of Level 1 or above on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).
The IAEA’s nuclear reactor database says China has 42 nuclear plants in operation, but the IAEA includes four additional units – the 25-MW CEFR experimental fast breeder reactor, and Yangjiang-5, Taishan-1 and Sanmen-1. Yangjiang, Taishan and Sanmen were connected to the grid during the second quarter of 2018 but are not yet operating commercially.
