State-owned CNNC could start building two 800-megawatt experimental fast reactors around 2013 and operations may start before 2020. China plans to master the technology by 2020, and the company has started an experimental program for the fast-reactor technology for commercial use
– Edited by Chris Smith –
According to A Bloomberg report, China is in talks with Russia and France on possible cooperation to build fourth-generation nuclear reactors as global demand for clean energy rises. China is developing nuclear energy to cut reliance on more polluting coal and oil and meet domestic consumption. China’s self-sufficiency in reactor design and construction and its emergence as an exporter of nuclear technology will grow competition for Areva SA and Electricite de France SA(EDF), Europe’s biggest power producers
State-owned CNNC could start building two 800-megawatt experimental fast reactors around 2013 and operations may start before 2020. China plans to master the technology by 2020, and the company has started an experimental program for the fast-reactor technology for commercial use.
CNNC holds a controlling stake and other partners include Fujian Investment and Development Corp. and the government of Sanming city, where the atomic plant will be located, the Beijing-based company said on its website.
China hopes to be able to build fast reactors with a capacity between 1,000 megawatts and 1,500 megawatts each and promote the technology by 2030. The fourth- generation plants are intended to supplement existing pressurized water reactors because the fast reactors have noticeable advantage in uranium use efficiency.
Worldwide competition for uranium resources is rising as governments accelerate plans for nuclear power expansions amid a global drive to cut carbon emissions. China has agreed to build two additional civilian nuclear reactors in Pakistan, the Financial Times reported last month.
China may spend more than 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) in the next decade on nuclear energy, Xu Yuming of China Nuclear Energy Association said at a conference. China Power Investment Corp., one of China's five largest electricity producers, plans to build nuclear plants in southern, central and northeastern China as domestic energy demand surges.
China Power is looking at plans to build AP1000 nuclear reactors in the provinces of Jilin, Guangxi, Liaoning, Henan and Chongqing. AP1000 units will be added to the Haiyang plant and the company expects to get state approval for the Pengze facility soon. AP1000 reactors use Westinghouse Electric's design to generate power.
By 2030, China may have 94 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, compared with 600 gigawatts worldwide. Under high-end forecasts, China could have as much as 140 gigawatts by 2030 against 800 gigawatts worldwide.
About 200 gigawatts of nuclear capacity are planned or under construction world-wide, and China, India, Russia and South Korea are set to be the main drivers of uranium demand growth, according to a report by Nomura International (HK) Ltd.