Zhang Huazhu: China must develop nuclear power, nuclear power safety is guaranteed
Source: Global Times. Date: 2014-12-19.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan has triggered global concerns about nuclear energy safety and even abandoned nuclear initiatives. On December 15, the China-Japan-Korea well-known media environmental theme interview group hosted by the Global Times interviewed Zhang Huazhu, the chairman of the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association. It is the association and related organizations that jointly submit reports to provide scientific support for the Chinese government to resume nuclear power construction as soon as possible. Zhang Huazhu said that China's nuclear power projects are safe and controllable. According to China's nuclear power planning, in 2020, it will reach 58 million kilowatts of installed nuclear power capacity in operation and more than 30 million kilowatts of installed nuclear power capacity under construction.
China's nuclear power safety is guaranteed
When referring to nuclear power plants, many people think of radiation first. Zhang Huazhu told reporters that the normal impact of the nuclear power plant on the surrounding environment is minimal. Because the earth environment on which people live is a natural radiation field, daily life is constantly receiving a variety of radiation, including natural background radiation and artificial radiation, such as cosmic rays, air, soil, certain foods, and so on. The average amount of radiation per person in China per year is 3.1 mSv. The normal operation of nuclear power plants has an additional impact on the surrounding public of less than one thousandth of the natural background, so the impact is very small.
The day of the interview was the 23rd anniversary of the first nuclear power plant in mainland China's Qinshan Nuclear Power Station being connected to the grid for power generation. Zhang Huazhu introduced that China's nuclear energy development for 30 years can be roughly divided into three major stages. The first phase is a decade that began in 1985. The symbol is the completion of two nuclear power plants and three nuclear power units in Qinshan and Daya Bay. The second phase began small-scale production in 1996, with a total of 4 projects and 8 units being built, and all of them were completed in 2007. The third stage is from December 2005 to the present, which is a period of rapid development of nuclear power in China. During this period, a total of 37 units were newly constructed, of which 10 have been completed and put into operation, and 27 are under construction.
At present, the geographical distribution of completed and under construction nuclear power plants in China ranges from north to south in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. A total of 48 units are in operation and under construction at 13 sites across the country. At the end of 2013, nuclear power generation accounted for 2.1% of the country's total power generation. Regarding China's future nuclear power development plan, Zhang Huazhu revealed that the 21 nuclear power units currently in operation in China have a power generation capacity of 19 million kilowatts, which is far from the 2020 target. Certain new nuclear power projects will definitely be started.
A reporter from the National Daily of South Korea asked, with the lessons of the Fukushima nuclear accident, how can China strengthen nuclear power safety measures? Zhang Huazhu replied affirmatively: "China's nuclear power safety is guaranteed." He said that on the fifth day of the Fukushima nuclear accident, the executive meeting of the State Council of China decided to conduct a comprehensive safety inspection of all nuclear power plants and facilities in China. After a 9-month nuclear safety inspection, the National Nuclear Safety Administration, the National Energy Administration, and the China Earthquake Administration jointly submitted a safety inspection report. It was concluded that the safety of nuclear power plants in China is guaranteed and the quality of nuclear power projects under construction is controllable . The National Nuclear Safety Administration also puts forward corresponding improvement measures in terms of adding emergency power sources, emergency water sources, and enhancing flood resistance based on the experience feedback from the Fukushima nuclear accident. At present, these measures have been implemented in operation and under construction of nuclear power plants.
Zhang Huazhu also revealed that the construction of nuclear power plants in inland China in the future “is a matter of time and will not be postponed indefinitely”, but the related development is not limited by safety issues, but the public's acceptance of inland nuclear power. From the perspective of global nuclear power development practices, there is no difference between inland nuclear power and coastal nuclear power. 50% of the world's nuclear power plants are built inland, the US inland nuclear power plants account for 61.5% of all nuclear power plants, and France account for 69%. Their operation practice for more than half a century has proved that the safety of inland nuclear power is guaranteed. However, the Fukushima nuclear accident has caused ideological shadows to the public. Although the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association organized experts to conduct a large number of investigations and demonstrations on foreign inland nuclear power experience and domestic adopted technology, they concluded that inland nuclear power is safe. The Chinese Academy of Engineering's research also reached consistent conclusions, but Zhang Huazhu acknowledged that these were not enough to offset the public's doubts. In the future, scientific conclusions need to be made and public awareness should be strengthened.
为什么 Why China must develop nuclear power
Zhang Huazhu said that China's nuclear power will continue to develop, because energy demand is still growing, and the requirements to cope with global climate change and control air pollution are also very urgent. Therefore, China must follow the path of green and low-carbon development, and nuclear energy is one of the important options for implementing this strategy.
Regarding why China continues to maintain the development of nuclear power against the background of Japan or other countries stopping or reducing nuclear energy use, Zhang Huazhu said that countries around the world will formulate their own energy policies based on their own development needs. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the Japanese people rebounded strongly, so they decided to stop or reduce the development of nuclear energy. China believes that nuclear power is suitable for China according to its own social development needs and the safety technology performance and management status of nuclear power. The same is true of other countries. In Europe, Germany is preparing to abandon nuclear power, while France still maintains a considerable number of nuclear power plants.
Zhang Huazhu said that China's energy structure is too dependent on coal. At present, coal accounts for up to 75% of the entire energy consumption. This energy structure causes two major problems. One is the increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the other is that air pollution is becoming increasingly serious. The frequent occurrence of haze weather greatly affects social development and people's lives. To control air pollution, we must gradually reduce the proportion of coal consumption and increase the supply of clean energy such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, and solar energy. But any kind of clean energy cannot completely replace the reduction of coal independently. Therefore, all kinds of energy must be developed and exerted simultaneously to make the development of clean and low-carbon energy a reality. Of course, the development of nuclear power must be based on safety, or nuclear power will lose public support and the foundation for development.
The future of nuclear power
South Korea's "Central Daily" reporter asked that there had been rumors that China would build 100 nuclear power units before. Zhang Huazhu responded, "It is not impossible in the future, there may be such a day, but in the future, China ’s nuclear power will not only be A considerable portion of the coastal areas will be built inland of China. "
华 Zhang Huazhu revealed that among the nuclear power units started in recent years, 29 have adopted Chinese technology, and only 8 have been imported from the United States, France and Russia. Based on the introduction, digestion and absorption of AP1000 technology, China has independently developed the CAP1400 technology and is applying for national approval. Construction may begin next year. At the same time, after 30 years of experience in introducing technology and independently developing nuclear power, and adopting the most advanced nuclear power safety standards, China's independent development of the third-generation nuclear power technology "Hualong One" will also start construction in the first half of next year. In the future, China will rely on its own strength to build follow-up projects.
The Japanese, Japanese, and Korean reporters expressed concern over China's attitude towards the development of new clean energy and thorium-based fuels. After the nuclear accident, Japan turned to the development of hydrogen energy. Zhang Huazhu believes that hydrogen energy is not a primary energy source. It must be produced by other energy sources. In this process, energy is consumed, so hydrogen should not be regarded as a substitute for primary energy sources. At present, China, Japan, and South Korea are all conducting research on cheaply obtaining hydrogen, but in any case, it must be supported by primary energy. One of the ways is to use nuclear energy to produce hydrogen.
As for new plutonium-based nuclear fuel power generation, Zhang Huazhu said that plutonium is a resource to be developed, but much research and development work is still needed. Plutonium itself does not have fissile nuclides, and it must be absorbed into the reactor to become fissionable plutonium-233. Therefore, completely leaving uranium, plutonium cannot be used as a nuclear fuel alone, and it cannot completely replace the use of uranium. Moreover, in the process of using plutonium, it is still necessary to use scientific methods to reasonably solve the problem of radioactivity.