China will fall short of its nuclear power generation capacity target for 2020, according to a forecast from the China Electricity Council on Tuesday. Total nuclear capacity is expected to reach 53 gigawatts (GW) next year, below a target of 58 GW, council vice chairman Wei Shaofeng told the China Nuclear Energy Sustainable Development Forum in Beijing. China is the world’s third-biggest nuclear power producer by capacity, with 45.9 GW installed by end-2018 and 11 units still under construction, but its reactor building program has stalled since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. No new approvals have been granted for the past three years, amid spiraling costs, delays for key projects and safety concerns about new technologies. Environmental impact assessments for two new projects in southeast China were submitted to regulators last month, however, paving the way for a resumption of its atomic energy program.
Reuters 2nd April 2019 read more »
China’s home-grown nuclear technology is gaining favour in the battle for the nation’s next generation of reactors, according to a state-owned developer, as it sought to recover from delays and cost blowouts from imported designs. China’s reactor, known as the Hualong One, will be faster and easier to repair and maintain than competing foreign designs because it will be made at home, according to Chen Hua, chief executive officer of China National Nuclear Power company (CNNP), which builds and operates nuclear power projects. “We prefer the Hualong One,” Chen said on Monday at a nuclear energy conference in Beijing. The global nuclear industry has been awaiting a revival in China after cost overruns and stricter regulation after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan stalled the approval and construction of more units.
South China Morning Post 2nd April 2019 read more »
