Nuclear power safety under construction: The prospects for a bright future are worrying

The impact of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident on China's nuclear power industry is emerging.

According to a survey conducted by the reporter, nuclear power plants currently under construction in Shandong, Chongqing, Hunan, and Jiangxi are all in suspension, and the proposed nuclear power plant has also been suspended for approval.

An insider of the nuclear power group stated that the accident in Japan has aroused high-level attention, and the State Council executive meeting on March 16 imposed a suspension order on the new nuclear power plant. "We are waiting for the nuclear safety plan to be introduced. We can't start construction without introducing it."

This also means that China’s nuclear power construction will stagnate in the short-term, and the original 86 million kilowatts of nuclear power development will be reduced in mid- and long-term planning goals, and China’s nuclear power will encounter an inflection point.

The construction of the nuclear power plant in Chongqing was suspended. The person in charge of the energy section of the Fuling District Development and Reform Commission of Chongqing Municipality told the reporter on April 6.

It is reported that Chongqing's nuclear power plant plan is completed in two phases. The first phase will invest 70 billion yuan and the second phase will reach 30 billion yuan. The initial site will be located in Nanxun Town, Fuling District. In addition, Chongqing has also planned to construct a second nuclear power plant at the same time. The Chongqing nuclear power plant plan also attracted competition from large power generation groups such as China Power Investment Group and China National Nuclear Corporation.

The person in charge of the above-mentioned energy section told reporters that although Chongqing’s nuclear power plants have been included in the country’s mid- and long-term development plan, the National Development and Reform Commission has not yet officially approved it, and therefore construction has not yet started. According to the source, Chongqing is currently building the only nuclear power plant in the southwest region. After the power plant is built, it can also be used in other provinces. “Our original plan was a good part of the construction in 2015, but now it seems that some prospects for this nuclear power plant plan are unclear.”

According to the reporter’s understanding, the Shandong Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Asia currently under construction, has also been in a state of shutdown inspection.

Haiyang Nuclear Power Station was an important part of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" of Shandong Province. The total investment of the project is 80 billion yuan, of which China Power Investment Corporation accounts for 40%, China National Nuclear Corporation accounts for 20%, Guodian Corporation accounts for 20%, and Shandong Lu Xinhua Holdings accounted for 10%, Huaneng Group accounted for 5%, and Yantai Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. accounted for 5%. The first unit was originally scheduled to enter commercial operations in 2014.

“Now it is just to stop and inspect safety. There should be no problem with our various formalities.” Lu Haichang, Propaganda Department of Haiyang City, Shandong Province, told this reporter. According to him, the reclamation and re-digging of Unit 1 of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Station has been completed, and it has now entered the equipment installation phase. The construction of Unit 2 began to start at the end of last year.

“The nuclear power station will ease the electricity consumption in Shandong, and after the eight units are all put into production, the annual power generation will be close to the 80 billion kWh of power generated by the Three Gorges in 2008,” said Lu Kechang.

A person from the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission also told reporters that in addition to the Haiyang nuclear power plant, there are also several nuclear power plants such as Weihai and Rushan that have been suspended from construction and inspections. There is no timetable for the restoration of the construction period. The reporter also learned from the Hunan Development and Reform Commission and the Jiangxi Development and Reform Commission that the proposed nuclear power plant project submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission has been temporarily suspended for approval.

There are 6 nuclear power plants built in China. There are 12 under construction and 31 planned. Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing and other places all announced the inland nuclear power planning of the provinces and cities. A nuclear power race is underway.

According to the reporter’s understanding, the National Development and Reform Commission’s mid- and long-term plans for China’s nuclear power were 40 million kilowatts and 18 million kilowatts under construction. Earlier this year, the National Energy Administration proposed to adjust the mid- and long-term plans for nuclear power to 60 million kilowatts. Build 38 million kilowatts.

However, a nuclear energy industry association official told the reporter that the above is only a conservative estimate, because there are many projects that do not get the “Enrollment Card” and are also advancing. “The total number of nuclear power projects currently under construction and planned to be built can reach 130 million kilowatts.”

The above sources stated that China’s nuclear power has been started since 1985 and so far 11 nuclear power units have been built with a total installed capacity of 9.1 million kilowatts, and the total volume of 130 million kilowatts over the next 10 years will be more than 10 times the construction speed in the past. . "Nuclear power needs to be accumulated in terms of talents, technology, and experience. China is not yet mature in this area, and the construction speed of such a speed is apparently eager for immediate benefits."

The main driver of this huge nuclear power program is local government.

A nuclear power industry official told reporters that the current reason for building nuclear power in many provinces is that power shortages are serious, but the real reason is the temptation of huge benefits. “A nuclear power plant is an investment of nearly 100 billion yuan, and it has achieved rapid results in taxes, employment, and GDP. This is the reason why local governments are keen.”

According to report, most of the nuclear power plants currently under construction or proposed to be built in Shandong, Chongqing, and Jiujiang are over 100 billion yuan worth of investment. Among them, Hubei Province has invested over 100 billion yuan in nuclear power plants. Taxes can reach more than 3 billion yuan each year, and the local community will also concentrate upstream and downstream equipment manufacturing on the nuclear power industry. The indirect tax revenue will be nearly 10 billion yuan.

An official from Haiyan County Government in Zhejiang revealed to reporters that at present Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant contributes nearly one-third of the county's tax revenue each year. Haiyan County’s fiscal revenue was 3.7 billion yuan in 2004, and the nuclear power system’s tax revenue With more than 100 million yuan, Haiyan County has been among the top 100 counties in the country for many years.

The investors also learned a lot. According to the reporter's understanding, the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, which began operation in August 2010, brought nearly 1 billion yuan in revenue to CNNC for nearly half a year. Industry sources have analyzed with reporters that after a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts is built, it will generate more than 10 billion yuan in electricity sales each year, and profits and taxes will reach several billion yuan.

Security Controversy However, after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the safety of nuclear power plants has also been questioned.

"Any nuclear power station is not 100% safe. Earthquakes and operational mistakes may cause disasters," a nuclear power expert who declined to be named told reporters. Under the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear power crisis, the great leap forward in nuclear power in China has become even more alarming in recent years.

Different sounds also exist.

Liu Chong, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Arms Control and Security at the Institute of Modern International Relations, told this reporter that the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan is a second-generation technology and belongs to the backward technology more than 40 years ago. The nuclear power plant built in China, such as Qinshan, belongs to the second generation. The semi-technical, under construction belongs to three generations of technology, "Using high water tanks, relying on temperature, gravity, gas expansion to promote fluid flow, and equipped with 'big tank' can release large amounts of water in an emergency, technically complete Avoid accidents in Fukushima."

Liu Chong told reporters that Japan currently has 55 nuclear power stations, but Japan's small land area is not suitable for large-scale construction of nuclear power plants, while China has vast land and is technologically advanced than Japan. Construction of nuclear power plants has inherent advantages.

However, Li Shengmao, a senior research fellow at CIC Advisors, told reporters that the safety of nuclear power should still be vigilant, and that local governments are not rational in their efforts to develop nuclear power plants based on economic interests. Prior to this, Sichuan in the earthquake zone had planned to build a large number of nuclear power plants, but the subsequent Wenchuan earthquake caused the plan to abortion.

One nuclear power expert, who did not wish to be named, stated that China’s nuclear power plants had been deployed in the coastal areas. However, the current construction of nuclear power plants has a tendency to transfer inland areas and it faces potential safety hazards. “For example, the construction of a nuclear power plant in a city on the seismic zone is very dangerous. At the same time, nuclear power plants built inland will face problems such as discharging waste water.”