The scale of nuclear power approval this year is expected to be comparable to that of last year
Source: Economic Observation Network Date: 2014-12-08
Recently, Li Pumin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, revealed that the next step will be to adopt the highest international safety standards in accordance with the requirements of the central government and start a number of coastal nuclear power projects under the premise of ensuring safety. This was interpreted as "the nuclear power restart is about to enter the countdown". Ye Qizhen, a well-known nuclear power expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told reporters that, in fact, China's nuclear power has been restarted as early as the end of 2012. Last year, the country approved four or five nuclear power units, and this year is expected to be equivalent to last year.
The context of the restart is the nuclear power measures taken by China after the Fukushima nuclear accident.
At a press conference held by the National Development and Reform Commission on December 4, Liu Baohua, director of the Nuclear Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, explained this background again: "After the Fukushima accident, the central government and the State Council took decisive measures. The first was to suspend the new Approval of nuclear power projects. The second is to carry out inspections of safety systems in the nuclear power sector across the country. The third is to improve the technical safety of nuclear power plants that are already in operation. "The specific measure is to review the shutdown of nuclear power projects under construction, and Strict approval of new nuclear power projects.
The suspended projects are divided into two categories, one is a project that has been approved but not yet under construction, and the other is a project that has been reported but not yet approved. The "restart" is for these suspended projects, which means that they are re-approved or started.
In order to learn from the Fukushima nuclear accident and ensure the safety of China ’s nuclear power projects, the state has decided to step up the preparation of a nuclear safety plan, adjust and improve the long-term nuclear power development plan, and suspend the approval of nuclear power projects before the plan is announced. Therefore, in 2012, the introduction of these two plans was considered a sign of nuclear power restart.
5On May 31, 2012, the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" for Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Pollution Prevention and Vision 2020 (referred to as "Nuclear Safety Plan"), which was prepared by the National Nuclear Safety Administration, was published. On October 24, 2012, the Nuclear Power Safety Plan (2011-2020) and the Nuclear Power Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan (2011-2020) were also approved by the State Council executive meeting.
The promulgation of the three major nuclear power plans indicates that China has the conditions to “restart” nuclear power. After a series of reviews, the approved Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 and Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 have obtained construction permits, and the first tank of concrete was poured on November 17, 2012. After that, at the end of 2012, the state successively approved the construction permits for Rongcheng high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, the approval and construction permit for the expansion project of Tianwan Phase II, and the construction permit for Tianwan No. 3 unit. This means that China's nuclear power construction has restarted at the end of 2012.
2013In 2013, the state approved the construction permits for Units 5 and 6 of Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station and the construction permits for Unit 4 of Tianwan Phase II. This year, China's nuclear power will continue the process of the previous two years. Ye Qichen said that the state approved four or five nuclear power units last year, in fact, the scale is no longer small, and this year is expected to be comparable to last year.
According to China's medium and long-term development plan for nuclear power, by 2015, China's planned installed nuclear power capacity will reach 40 million kilowatts, and by 2020, the planned installed capacity will reach 58 million kilowatts. According to Liu Baohua, at present, China operates 21 nuclear power units with an installed capacity of 19.02 million kilowatts; 27 nuclear power units under construction with an installed capacity of 29.53 million kilowatts.
According to the installed capacity of 58 million kilowatts in 2020, according to the average estimate, it is estimated that in the future (including 2014), China will need to build an average of 6 million kilowatts of nuclear power capacity to complete the target, which is equivalent to the completion of five 1.2 million kilowatts of nuclear power each year unit. Because the construction of nuclear power plants requires a construction period of several years, experts believe that to complete the planning goals, a number of new nuclear power projects must be launched this year and next.
In accordance with the national nuclear power policy, inland nuclear power projects will not be launched during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Therefore, a number of coastal nuclear power units will be approved in this and next two years.
However, according to media reports, among the nuclear power projects that are about to be approved in the next step, several projects are most likely to be launched. The Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant Phase II of CGNPC has basically completed the preliminary work before the Fukushima nuclear accident, and has the conditions for start-up; CGN Fujian Fuqing Units 5 and 6 have obtained a reply from the Energy Bureau to start the operation and completed the consultation of CCC Evaluation of the construction plan; In addition, the major project of CAP1400 of Shandong Shidao Bay by State Nuclear Technology Holdings has also started preliminary work.