China's nuclear power: to achieve the goal of "double carbon", nuclear has 1+N magical uses

"For example, the 300,000-kilowatt unit of Qinshan Nuclear Power plant has increased to 350,000 kilowatts through a series of technological improvements, and the generation capacity has increased, which means that nuclear power has contributed more to clean energy." China nuclear power strategic investment Department Sun Huapeng said.

But in his view, by "living on a budget" on the existing units, the increment has a "ceiling" after all. While seizing the space for stock optimization and improvement, actively carry out the future industrial and technological layout, and expand the increment is the more long-term choice. Such as the development of new sites, vigorously develop non-nuclear clean energy and explore the multi-purpose of nuclear energy, the development of agile end industries.

Do the "increment"

Prepare the "dishes" well in advance for the country

The "rice" of developing a new plant site depends on the "day" to eat, and the country must allow more nuclear power projects. The national initiative to propose a "dual carbon" target is undoubtedly a timely wind for the development of nuclear power.

"Before, when we went to some places to talk about projects, the other side often showed a lot of concerns, which made it difficult to advance the work, because they still have more options such as thermal power." Now, under the pressure of the "double carbon" goal, many places, especially some economically developed provinces with large energy demand, have become more eager to cooperate with us. Because the country requires 2030 to achieve carbon peak, 2060 to achieve carbon neutrality, and the construction cycle of nuclear power plants is relatively long, from the start to the completion of about 58 months. Even if it is approved this year and construction starts next year, it will be almost 15 years before we can enjoy the role of emission reduction." China Nuclear power nuclear energy development division Jia Peng said.

China Nuclear Power is also increasing the development of new plant sites, through the implementation of "one plant, one policy" and "one province, one policy" site development strategy, and strive to do a good job of nuclear power project development and national, local and industrial development strategies deep integration.

"Site reserve is a complex work, from site selection, protection to mature development basically takes three to five years." The goal set by the leaders of the company is that we have to have the 'food' ready at all times, to make sure that whenever the country needs it, we can serve it at all times, and we can't wait for the food to be ordered before buying it, because it will be too late." Mr. Jabon said.

According to the national "14th Five-Year Plan", nuclear power in operation will reach 70 million kilowatts by 2025. In recent years, relevant domestic research groups have proposed that the development of nuclear power reach the goal of 150 million kilowatts of installed capacity in 2035. This means that six to eight new units will be built every year. At this rate, by 2030, coastal nuclear power plants will become a scarce resource, and to develop new sites, only inland can be considered. As we all know, since the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, China's inland nuclear power plant sites have been in the protection demonstration stage, when to start restart, there is no specific time.

In other countries, it is common for nuclear power to be built inland. According to data released by the World Nuclear Association (WNA), as of January 2021, 251 of the 441 nuclear power units in operation worldwide are located in the interior, accounting for 57%. In the United States, which has the largest installed nuclear power plants in the world, 85 of the 96 nuclear power units are located inland. France, which has the highest share of nuclear power generation, has 40 of its 58 nuclear power units located inland.

In the 2021 Government Work Report, it was proposed to "actively and orderly develop nuclear power under the premise of ensuring safety".

Industry insiders immediately grasped the key message - in addition to the consistent emphasis on "safety first", this is the first time in a decade that the government work report has used "positive" words to express the nuclear power development work arrangement. "Active" means actively planning the development of nuclear power and maintaining a reasonable pace of development; "Orderly" means to reverse the unbalanced and inadequate situation of nuclear energy development, rational layout, and play its role in supporting the power grid to absorb a high proportion of new energy. All these bring good "policy" opportunities for the steady start of the development of inland nuclear power.

Strengthen the "momentum" and actively expand the new

Many antennae advance in unison

The development cycle of new nuclear power projects is relatively long, China's nuclear power has long been actively exploring the multi-purpose market of nuclear energy, such as the gradual implementation of cogeneration of nuclear power units according to market demand and corresponding conditions, and has formed advanced reactors such as "Linglong No. 1" small reactor, Yanlong nuclear heating reactor, high temperature gas cooled reactor and other advanced reactors with high inherent safety and comprehensive application active and non-active design. They can be heating, cooling, seawater desalination, hydrogen production, industrial steam supply, close to towns or remote islands to arrange their own appropriate, will make a non-negligible contribution to the optimization of China's energy structure.