Safety issues might delay nuclear plants

The expansion of nuclear energy in China is likely to involve new reactors at existing coastal facilities, but the timeline for approval and construction remains unclear even as energy officials push for more nuclear generation to meet electricity demands of a growing economy, experts said.

Zhang Guobao, former head of the National Energy Administration, said that technical and other issues are holding up new projects.

"Construction had been expected to start on a number of coastal nuclear projects, but approvals will depend on how quickly they are able to resolve the challenges of the third-generation nuclear power technology to meet the required safety standards," he said.

Zhang added that the approach of winter, especially in the northern provinces, is also holding up construction.

Nonetheless, a meeting held by the NEA last Friday revived speculation that China, which has the world's fastest-growing nuclear market, will embark on a program of new nuclear plants.

Earlier reports said that the meeting was held to review third-generation nuclear technologies to see which technical route is best-suited to be commercialized in China.

Third-generation plants rely on so-called passive safety measures such as gravity, rather than requiring human action.

The technologies under consideration include Hualong 1 (first dragon), developed by the China National Nuclear Corp and Guangdong-based China General Nuclear Power Corp. Another technology is the CAP1400, adapted from Westinghouse Electric Corp's third-generation AP1000 reactor.

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in the wake of a massive earthquake in 2011, China put nuclear plant approval and construction on hold to revise its safety standards. But the nation is planning to expand its nuclear power capacity to ensure energy security and economic growth.

Preparations have been in progress for years on both inland and coastal nuclear power projects, but which plants will be the first to win approval remains unknown.

The result of last week's meeting will be used as a reference point to approve any new projects, according to industry insiders, who speculated on the sites most likely to win approval.

According to those sources, the probable choices include units five and six of the Hongyan River station in Liaoning province, the third phase of the Fuqing facility in Fujian province, and the first CAP1400-based demonstration nuclear project at Shidao Bay in Rongcheng, Shandong province.

"There is a strong chance that these projects will start construction this year," an official at a State-owned nuclear company told China Daily on condition of anonymity.

"For other projects, the chances are nearly zero."

Nuclear power, which now accounts for less than 2 percent of installed electricity capacity, has been designated as a major source of clean energy to fuel China's economic growth.

President Xi Jinping said in June during a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs that China should "lose no time" in building nuclear power projects in the eastern coastal provinces.

As of the end of 2013, China had 17 operating nuclear power plants with total installed capacity of 14.83 million kilowatts. Another 31 reactors will be built, accounting for about 40 percent of the nuclear plants under construction around the world, according to the NEA.