Inland nuclear projects should resume: experts

Westinghouse Electric Corp's third-generation AP1000 nuclear power equipment being transported in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province. The inland Hunan province hopes to have a plant using the equipment operating in 2020. Provided to China Daily

Government's battle to reduce air pollution requires more capacity

Energy officials called on Wednesday for efforts to restart inland nuclear power projects in Hunan province within the term of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) as the nation struggles to cut air pollution.

"Nuclear power is crucial and a necessary choice for Hunan to restructure its energy mix and generate enough power to meet demand, since there has been a huge gap between energy supply and demand in the region," said Wang Liangfang, director of the Hunan Provincial Energy Bureau.

Wang spoke during the 4th China Nuclear Sustainable Development Forum held in Beijing.

Wang, who's also deputy director of the Hunan Development and Reform Commission, said that China should prepare as soon as possible to build inland nuclear projects that were suspended until 2015 under a central government moratorium.

Hunan has two nuclear power projects on the drawing board - the Taohua River power station and the Xiaomoshan project. Construction could start on both, since the preliminary engineering work and documentation are almost completed, he said.

The Taohua River plant is likely to become the nation's first inland nuclear power station. The first phase, with two reactors using third-generation AP1000 technology developed by Westinghouse Electric Corp, is scheduled to break ground in 2016 and start generating power in 2020.

China suspended its nuclear program after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011.

The ban on construction of coastal nuclear plants has been largely lifted as most nuclear power plants in China are located on the coast and generally use seawater for cooling reactors that use a direct once-through cycle.

But the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a notice in 2012 that maintained the suspension of all inland nuclear projects until 2015, citing what it said are higher risks in inland regions.

Wang Yumin, deputy director of the National Energy Administration, said in March that inland projects, which have been included in the next five-year plan, will start work after coastal projects are completed.

The Taohua River nuclear project in Hunan province was said to be progressing despite the ban. But China National Nuclear Corp, the parent company of the project, said on its website that it had only done some "advocacy work" and prepared the necessary documents.

As China's worsening air pollution continues to exact a significant economic toll, the country is pressing ahead with more nuclear projects, as noted in Premier Li Keqiang's government work report, which stressed the need to combat air pollution.

Zhang Zhuhua, general director of the China Nuclear Energy Association, told the forum that China's nuclear industry is still recovering after the Japan nuclear crisis, so it needs to address many challenges in terms of safety and quality control.

China has 19 nuclear power plants in operation with total installed capacity of 17.01 million kilowatts. Another 29 reactors are scheduled to be built, the world's largest nuclear power construction program, according to the CNEA.