How can nuclear power help our country's energy structure green and low carbon transformation?



As a recognized "stable power supply", the advantage of nuclear power is that power generation is stable and reliable, while nuclear power has obvious advantages of clean and low-carbon, and carbon emissions are lower than photovoltaic power generation and comparable to wind power. It is estimated that nuclear power has saved more than 85 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally. In the first half of this year, China's accumulated commercial nuclear power generation reached 100.827 billion KWH, up 5.83% year-on-year.

Since the world's first unit landed in Fujian Fuqing in May 2015, the construction of China's independent three-generation nuclear power "Hualong One" unit has been "blooming everywhere", while the construction of the world's first onshore commercial modular small reactor "Linglong One" is also in full gear, and its reactor pressure vessel and steam generator combined equipment module will be shipped from Dalian, Liaoning Province. And recently completed the lifting. Active safe and orderly development of nuclear power, how to help our energy structure to achieve green and low-carbon transformation?

"Linglong 1" the world's first reactor will welcome new progress

In recent days, at the site of CNNC's Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant, under the high temperature of more than 30 degrees Celsius, personnel and vehicles of all parties are busy in a tense and orderly manner. Tang Chuanbao, vice president of China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute, introduced that as another major achievement of independent innovation of China National Nuclear Group after "Hualong One", the lifting operation of the pressure vessel and steam generator module of "Linglong One" will be carried out this month. This step is equivalent to installing the "heart of the dragon" on the world's first land-based commercial modular small reactor.

Tang Chuanbao said that the reactor pressure vessel and steam generator are the core equipment of the nuclear power plant, known as the "heart" and "lung" of the pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant, and play a vital role in the safe and stable operation of the nuclear power plant. As an integrated reactor of modular construction, the "Ling Long 1" reactor pressure vessel and steam generator is the first "heart + lung" integrated equipment module, and for the first time the on-site welding work has been transferred to the factory, and they are now preparing for the on-site lifting work later this month.

If a million-kilowatt nuclear power plant such as "Hualong One" is a "home desktop computer", including a display, host, keyboard and other components, then a small pile such as "Linglong one" can be regarded as a "laptop computer", its display, host, keyboard and so on are concentrated together, and it is widely used. It can be used in nuclear power generation, industrial process steam, district heating, seawater desalination and other fields.

Tang Chuanbao said that "Linglong 1" after the completion of the annual electricity generation can reach 1 billion KWH, can meet the needs of 526,000 households. Its popularization and application can greatly reduce the consumption of fossil energy in our country and promote energy conservation and emission reduction. "Each 'Linglong 1' unit is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 880,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to planting 7.5 million trees." Facing China's goal of '2030 carbon peak, 2060 carbon neutral' and the requirements of active, safe and orderly development of nuclear power, this modular multi-purpose small reactor will realize multi-scenario applications, provide continuous and stable clean green energy, and help China's energy green low-carbon transformation and optimize energy structure adjustment."

Where does 50 billion KWH of clean, low-carbon electricity come from every year?

As the "big brother" of "Linglong No. 1", the "Hualong No. 1" demonstration project has been fully completed and put into operation for more than a year. In May this year, China's independent third-generation nuclear power technology "Hualong One" the world's first batch demonstration project - CNPC Fuqing Nuclear Power 5, 6 units through the completion of acceptance. Lin Weifeng, director of the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant of CNNC, said that the two units have an annual power generation of 20 billion KWH, which is equivalent to reducing the consumption of standard coal by 6.24 million tons per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 16.32 million tons, and planting 140 million trees, with significant economic, social and environmental effects.

Lin Weifeng said that the Fuqing nuclear power project plans to continuously build six million-kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power units. At present, Unit 1-6 has been fully completed and put into operation, which can provide clean and low-carbon electricity up to 50 billion degrees per year, becoming a booster to promote the "double carbon" goal. At the same time, "Hualong One" has built a multi-level integrated green construction management system in the construction, and has achieved good construction results in the aspects of "material saving, water saving, land saving, energy saving and environmental protection", and has formed a set of replicable standardized project management system, providing the world with Chinese solutions and Chinese experience for the development of third-generation nuclear power.

How can modern information technology enable nuclear power plant construction?

When it comes to energy saving and carbon reduction in the construction phase, Liaoning Xudabu nuclear Power Plant also has a say. At present, the 3 and 4 units of the Xudabu nuclear Power Plant are at the peak of construction. Kesong, general manager of CNNC Xudapu Project, introduced that during the project construction process, the design and construction team continued to promote technology, process and equipment innovation, vigorously carried out smart site construction, and focused on promoting "modular construction" to create "smart" projects.

Curzon said: "The construction of a nuclear power plant is a very complex and ambitious project, requiring the coordination of many professional and technical work, and in order to ensure safety, strict standards must be carried out." Now the civil construction including the later installation and commissioning stage is very different from before. We have built a smart project management platform of the project department, using modern information technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, BIM and big data to improve the digitization, visualization, wisdom and fine management level of the project construction process, so as to achieve real-time monitoring and control of project safety, quality, progress, cost and important on-site construction links."

It is understood that after the 3 and 4 units of the Xudabu nuclear power plant are put into use, the annual power generation is expected to reach 18 billion KWH or more, which is equivalent to an annual saving of about 6 million tons of coal and an annual reduction of 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

How can nuclear energy contribute to the construction of a new energy system?

Gao Bin, scientific and technological leader of China Nuclear Strategic Planning Research Institute, introduced that carbon emissions in the energy sector are one of the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions in China, of which the power industry accounts for 41% of carbon emissions in the entire energy sector. Therefore, it is particularly important to promote the revolution of energy consumption and production, accelerate the transformation of energy structure, and build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient modern energy system to achieve the "double carbon" goal.

Gao Bin said: "Nuclear power generation process does not produce greenhouse gas emissions, a million kilowatt-level nuclear power unit annual generation of nearly 8 billion KWH, compared with the same grade of coal-fired units, equivalent to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of 6.4 million tons." Compared from the life-cycle carbon emission intensity of different power supply varieties, the carbon emission intensity of nuclear power generation is comparable to hydropower and wind power, lower than photovoltaic power generation, and nuclear power generation does not produce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants, clean and low-carbon advantages are very obvious."

Gao Bin said that nuclear power has advantages in safety, efficiency and stability, and ensures a safe and stable supply of energy and electricity through coordination with renewable energy. In addition, in addition to the production of electricity, nuclear energy can also realize the comprehensive application of urban heating, industrial steam supply, seawater desalination, nuclear energy hydrogen production and other scenarios, providing important support for the low-carbon transformation of China's energy structure.

"With the continuous advancement of the construction of China's new power system, the proportion of new energy such as scenery in China's power system continues to rise." Nuclear power can bear the base load of the power grid, with the advantages of continuous and stable power supply, nuclear power and new energy such as scenery complement each other, coordinated development, can effectively support large-scale new energy online consumption, in the construction of new energy as the main body of the new power system to play a greater role. Nuclear energy can also be used for multiple purposes and multiple scenarios. For example, we have realized nuclear heating around Qinshan and Haiyang nuclear power bases. Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is building China's first industrial use of nuclear energy steam supply project. In the future, nuclear energy can also be coupled with high-energy-consuming industries such as petrochemicals and steel to provide clean energy alternatives for high-energy-consuming industries. In the future, the value of clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient nuclear energy will be further highlighted, and it will better help China achieve its' dual-carbon 'goal." Gao Bin said.