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China turns to the seas to help double nuclear capacity

BEIJING — China is planning to build a floating nuclear power station as it seeks to double its atomic capacity by 2020, a senior official said yesterday.

BEIJING — China is planning to build a floating nuclear power station as it seeks to double its atomic capacity by 2020, a senior official said yesterday.

The authorities are making plans for a “marine floating power station”, which will go through “strict and scientific demonstration”, said the chairman of China Atomic Energy Authority, Mr Xu Dazhe.

“China is devoted to building itself into a maritime power and so we will definitely make full use of ocean resources,” he told a press conference yesterday at the unveiling of a White Paper on the country’s nuclear emergency preparedness.

The use of nuclear power at sea is not unknown — aircraft carriers and missile submarines are often nuclear-powered — but doing so for civilian purposes appears to be unprecedented, although a Russian project is reportedly already under construction.

Beijing included the development of two marine nuclear power plants, to be built by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) respectively, in its 13th five-year plan for 2016-2020, the two companies announced earlier this month.

The CNNC plant is expected to start operations in 2019 and CGN’s the following year, according to their statements.

They could provide power for offshore oil and gas drilling platforms, island development and remote areas, said both firms.

Beijing is at loggerheads with neighbours, including Japan and the Philippines, over territorial rows in the East and South China Seas, and has alarmed rivals with its massive reclamation and construction of facilities on disputed reefs.

Yesterday, Mr Xu added that China is on course to meet its target of raising its total installed nuclear power capacity to 58 gigawatts (GW) after a resumption in new project approvals last year, which green-lit the construction of eight new reactors.

China now has 30 nuclear reactors in operation, with a capacity of 28.3GW.

Another 24 reactors capable of generating 26.7GW are currently under construction.

“At this speed, the targets to put 58GW into operation, and have another 30GW under construction by 2020, are still within our plans,” said Mr Xu at a briefing on nuclear safety.

Of the total now in operation, 28 are commercial nuclear projects. According to the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA), the reactors generated 169 billion kilowatt-hours of power last year, up 29.4 per cent from 2014.

China suspended new reactor approvals and launched a nationwide inspection of all its nuclear projects in 2011, after a massive earthquake and tsunami sparked meltdowns at an ageing nuclear plant in Japan’s Fukushima.

While some countries have vowed to phase out their nuclear reactor fleet as a result of safety concerns and growing public opposition, China is now embarking on the world’s biggest nuclear construction programme, as part of its efforts to ease its current dependence on coal.

Under the recently adopted post-2020 global climate change framework, China has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60 per cent to 65 per cent using 2005 levels as a baseline, increase the proportion of renewables in its energy mix to about 20 per cent and peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

China aims to become a leading global reactor builder, and has signed preliminary agreements with countries such as Argentina and Romania to export technology, including its flagship “Hualong One” reactor design. AGENCIES

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