After years of preparations, comprehensive assessment and review, approval has been granted for the construction of three new nuclear power plants in Sanmen, Zhejiang province, Haiyang, Shandong province, and Lufeng, Guangdong province. All six units, two for each site, will adopt third-generation nuclear technologies, and this is the first time that China has approved six units at one time since 2008, which illustrates the government’s determination to steadily develop nuclear power under the premise of security, said Luo Zuoxian, head of intelligence and research at the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute. According to estimates from Yicai.com, the total investment for each third-generation nuclear unit is around CNY20 billion and the six units are expected to have a total investment of CNY120 billion. “Four of them will adopt CAP1000, a Chinese version of U.S.-imported technology, another two reactors in Lufeng will adopt China’s third-generation nuclear reactor technology Hualong One.
Luo added that nuclear power, together with clean coal and gas, will play a crucial role in a new power system dominated by new energy. “As a non-fossil energy, nuclear power has further illustrated its strategic importance in the country’s energy mix since last year’s energy shortage,” he said. “While European countries are already shifting from banning nuclear energy to restarting it and China is also actively developing wind, solar and hydropower on a large scale, there is substantial room for nuclear power in the years to come on the global stage.”
Luo believes China will continue to support nuclear energy as an integral part of its energy supply and the sector is likely to enter a strategic development period in the years to come. According to the 14th Five Year Plan (2021-25) on the country’s energy system released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) in March, the government vowed to step up the installed capacity of nuclear power plants in operation to 70 gigawatts by 2025, up from 51 GW at the end of 2020. The plan also calls for wider promotion of the use of nuclear energy to heat residential and industrial areas and desalinate seawater, after two cities in China – Haiyang, Shandong province and Haiyan, Zhejiang province – have already successfully achieved commercial nuclear heating during the 2021-2022 heating season.
Demonstration projects of advanced reactor types including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, fast reactors, modular small reactors and offshore floating reactors should be conducted, while the country should also step up the digitalization of the country’s energy system, according to the plan. China is already the second-largest worldwide in terms of nuclear-installed capacity and generation capacity, while it has also become a pioneer in the global nuclear sector, the China Daily reports.
