1 Apr (NucNet): China will be able to build six to eight nuclear reactors a year if project approval processes return to normal as expected in the near future, the chairman of the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said today, according to media reports.
“That should be enough to meet our country’s 2030 development plans,” Yu Jianfeng said, speaking on the sidelines of an industry conference in Beijing.
Channel News Asia said China did not approve any new conventional nuclear projects for three years before giving the go-ahead for two new nucear power stations in earlier this year. Reports have said the two new stations are CNNC’s Zhangzhou site in Fujian and China General Nuclear Power’s Huizhou Taipingling site in Guangdong.
China originally planned to put 58 GW of nuclear power into operation by 2020, with another 30 GW under construction. This compares to almost 36 GW produced by 46 commercially operational reactor units today.
But the slowdown means it is unlikely to meet the 2020 goals, and industry executives have been calling on the state to accelerate the approval process in order to ensure that 2030 energy, climate and pollution targets can be reached.
Last year CNNC said it was capable of building more than 10 new nuclear power units a year and “multiple” new sites were fully prepared for construction.
Shanghai-based nuclear energy analysis company Nicobar Nicobar told NucNet recently that China’s goal is to have 110 nuclear units in commercial operation by 2030, but this target is likely to be adjusted in the next Five-Year Plan, the first draft of which will appear this year.
CNNC's Yu told the industry conference the global nuclear sector was gradually “recovering confidence” after the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident in Japan.
However, “communication problems” and “misunderstandings” among the public were one of the reasons why China hasn’t been able to take full advantage of its manufacturing capabilities and increase capacity more quickly, he said.
