Nuclear projects on hold
By Lydia Chen |
June 25, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA may halt approvals of nuclear projects in the next two years, according to the country's nuclear safety framework that is expected to be submitted to the State Council in August.
On March 16, five days after the earthquake -tsunami disaster hit Japan, approvals for new reactors were frozen until existing plants are checked, construction plans reviewed and a new national safety framework in place.
The framework is now being discussed by the National Nuclear Safety Administration. It is expected to be released at the year end after gaining approval from the State Council, Shen Wenquan, a member of the expert panel of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp, told China Securities Journal on Thursday. But the framework will not affect the 27 reactors now under construction, Shen said.
Work on the 27 reactors is expected to be completed as late as 2017 with a combined power capacity of 30.79 gigawatts. They will help China realize its target of lifting its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2015 from 10.8 gigawatts last year, according to the country's 12th Five-Year Plan.
But the two-year halt could put in doubt a previous goal of raising nuclear power capacity to at least 70 gigawatts by 2020.
China currently has 13 nuclear power reactors in operation, compared with 104 reactors in the United States, 55 in Japan and 19 in Britain. China plans to increase its number of operational reactors to 40 by 2015.
Since March, safety checks at China's 13 reactors have uncovered no problems. Reviews of facilities under construction are expected to be finished by October.
On March 16, five days after the earthquake -tsunami disaster hit Japan, approvals for new reactors were frozen until existing plants are checked, construction plans reviewed and a new national safety framework in place.
The framework is now being discussed by the National Nuclear Safety Administration. It is expected to be released at the year end after gaining approval from the State Council, Shen Wenquan, a member of the expert panel of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp, told China Securities Journal on Thursday. But the framework will not affect the 27 reactors now under construction, Shen said.
Work on the 27 reactors is expected to be completed as late as 2017 with a combined power capacity of 30.79 gigawatts. They will help China realize its target of lifting its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2015 from 10.8 gigawatts last year, according to the country's 12th Five-Year Plan.
But the two-year halt could put in doubt a previous goal of raising nuclear power capacity to at least 70 gigawatts by 2020.
China currently has 13 nuclear power reactors in operation, compared with 104 reactors in the United States, 55 in Japan and 19 in Britain. China plans to increase its number of operational reactors to 40 by 2015.
Since March, safety checks at China's 13 reactors have uncovered no problems. Reviews of facilities under construction are expected to be finished by October.
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