Energy plans announced in China Wednesday promised to end a moratorium on new nuclear projects put in place after the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, although they also pare back the scope of China's ambitious goals for reactor development.
Between 2011 and 2015, China's Five Year Plan previously called for upwards of 40 new nuclear projects, the state-controlled China Daily reported. Under the new policy, only those projects with generation III reactors meeting international standards and located on the coast will be allowed to move forward during that time. The government did not address long-term goals for nuclear power, which at one time called for an additional 48 gigawatts of nuclear generation to be built by 2020.
Although construction at existing sites continued, the moratorium on new plants had been in place for 19 months while the government reviewed its regulatory framework and inspected its 16 operating reactors. While details remain sparse on which proposed projects will move forward in the next three years, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post estimated that nearly one-third would be affected by the prohibition on new inland plants.