Forus,themostimportanttasknowistoimprovethesafetylevelofnuclearconstructionandpreventaccidentsthroughinnovation,infalliblestandardsandadvancedtechnologiesandequipment.
XuDazhe,Chairman,ChinaAtomicEnergyAuthority
China’sfirstwhitepaperonnuclearenergyunderscoressecuritymeasures
ByLiuJian
Nuclearenergyisadouble-edgedsword.Ifwell-regulated,itcangivegreatimpetustodevelopment.Butitcanalsoposeagreatriskincaseofaccidents,liketheFukushimanucleardisasterinJapanfiveyearsago.
Thedisasterimpactedtheworldandincreasedpublicconcernsaboutnuclearsafetyglobally.Toallaysafetyfearsathome,China,aleaderinthepeacefuluseofnuclearenergy,hasissueditsfirstwhitepaperonnuclearenergy,givingsafetytoppriorityinthedevelopmentofitsnuclearenergyindustry.
Thedocument,China’sNuclearEmergencyPreparedness,issuedonJanuary27,detailsthegovernment’spoliciesandmeasurestoboostnuclearemergencypreparednessandpromotenuclearsecurity.
Astheworld’slargestenergyproducerandconsumer,Chinaneedscleanandefficientfuel.Itisalsocommittedtoincreasingtheshareofnon-fossilfuelsinitsenergyconsumptiontoabout20percentby2030.Thismeansnuclearpowerhasbecomeanimportantpartintheenergystrategyandaccordingly,thegovernmenthassteppeduppreventivemeasurestokeepnuclearpowerplantssafe.
ReleasingthedocumentwillhelpthepublicunderstandChina’snuclearemergencypreparednessandenhancepeople’sconfidenceinnuclearenergy,accordingtoYaoBin,headoftheNuclearEmergencyandSecurityDivisionattheStateAdministrationofScience,TechnologyandIndustryforNationalDefense.
“ThewhitepapershowsChina’sdeterminationtodevelopnuclearpowerundertheprincipleofmaintainingsafety,”notedGuiLiming,ProfessoratTsinghuaUniversity.“ThisindicatesthegreatimportanceChinaattachestosafetywhiledevelopingnuclearenergy.”
Thegenesis
Chinahas30nuclearpowerunitsinoperation,withaninstalledcapacityof28.31millionkw.Another24unitsareunderconstruction,withacapacityof26.72millionkw.“Thisisthelargestnumberintheworld,”XuDazhe,ChairmanofChinaAtomicEnergyAuthority,saidatthereleaseofthewhitepaper.
Inaddition,eightmoreunitswereapprovedlastyear.“Atthisrate,wecanreachthegoalof58millionkwwithanadditional30millionkwunderconstructionby2020,”Xusaid.
Mostofthenuclearplantsarelocatedintheeasterncoastalareas.“[It’s]becausetheeasternregionismoreeconomicallydeveloped,andthedevelopmentofnuclearpowershouldmeetdemandfirst,”heexplained.
“Thedevelopmentofnuclearpowerwillhelpovercomeenvironmentalconstraints,ensureenergyandrealizelow-carbondevelopment,”saidYeQizhenfromtheChineseAcademyofEngineering.
“It[nuclearenergy]willbecomeanimportantpartofChina’sfuturesustainableenergysystem,”addedYe,whoisalsothechiefdesignerofthesecondphaseoftheQinshannuclearproject,China’sfirstdomesticallydesignedandconstructednuclearpowerplantinZhejiangProvinceineastChina.
China’shomemadenuclearpowertechnologyhasbecomematureandpavedthewayforexport.HualongOne,athird-generationnuclearreactordesign,isoneofthemostadvancedintheworldintermsofinnovationinsafetytechnologyandstandards.ChinaandArgentinahavesignedanagreementtobuildaHualongOnereactorfortheSouthAmericancountry.
DevelopedbyChina’sStateNuclearPowerTechnologyCorp.,thetechnologytobuildCAP1400,apressurizedwaterreactor,willbeexportedtoSouthAfricaandTurkey.DuringtheJohannesburgSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationlastDecember,anagreementwassignedbetweenChinaandSouthAfricatotrainSouthAfricannucleartechnicians.
Chinahasbilateralagreementsonnuclearenergycooperationwith30countriessinceitjoinedtheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgencyin1984.TheyincludetheUnitedStates,RussiaandFrance.
Insiderssaythatsafetyisthelifelineofthenuclearpowerindustrywhiletheemergencyresponsesystemisthelastlineofdefensefornuclearsafety.China’snuclearactivities“remaininasafeandstablestate,”thewhitepapersays,withnoincidentsabovelevel2ontheInternationalNuclearandRadiologicalEventScale,whichratessevenlevels.