In the great era of green electricity infrastructure, nuclear power will take off again

Nuclear power does not pollute the surrounding environment. During operation, the nuclear power plant does not emit SO2, CO2, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides and other gases and particles that will cause pollution to the environment. At the same time, nuclear power plants have a complete radiation protection system, and the monitoring results of China's nuclear power plants in 2022 show that the operation of nuclear power plants has not caused significant changes in radiation dose, and has not adversely affected the surrounding environment of nuclear power plants. In 2022, the cumulative power generation of nuclear power units in operation in China will reach 417.786 billion kWh, an increase of 2.52% over the same period. Compared with coal-fired power generation, nuclear power generation is equivalent to reducing the burning of standard coal by 118 million tons, reducing the emission of carbon dioxide by 309 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 1 million tons, and nitrogen oxide by 870,000 tons. A million kW nuclear power unit can reduce CO2 emissions by about 6 million tons per year compared to the same power coal-fired unit.

Nuclear power generation side double carbon landing. In November 2021, nearly 200 countries signed the Glasgow Climate Convention at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), agreeing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and committing to phase out coal use. Reduce subsidies for fossil fuels. Nuclear power helps to enhance the stability of power grid operation and promote the deployment of new energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaic.

Nuclear power can help other industries cut carbon. In addition to power supply, nuclear energy can also be used for district heating, industrial heating, desalination, hydrogen production, synthetic fuels, etc., helping to promote the decarbonization of sectors other than electricity that are difficult to reduce emissions. In 2022, the heating projects of Haiyang, Hongyanhe, Shidao Bay, Qinshan and other units have been started and put into official operation, which is expected to continue heating and steam supply for the factory and surrounding industrial enterprises in the future, and contribute to environmental protection and energy conservation and emission reduction.

2.3 Supply assurance capacity to improve the rigid demand attributes of nuclear power

Nuclear power is the only power generation method with both baseload power and clean energy properties. Base load energy refers to the main power source that can provide continuous and reliable power supply, such as coal power and nuclear power. Nuclear power clean, low carbon, high energy density, good economy, not affected by seasonal and climate factors, in addition to short refuelling overhaul, can be long-term stable operation at rated power, to meet the base load power supply reliable, economic, adequate and clean four requirements, is the best choice to replace fossil energy base load power supply. Nuclear power peaking and power reduction operations will also increase safety risks and environmental protection and fuel handling costs. Uranium resources for the manufacture of nuclear fuel are national strategic resources. Reduced power operation and shutdown will directly lead to the discharge of nuclear fuel without full utilization, which will not only waste uranium resources, but also increase the difficulty and cost of nuclear power plant operation and spent fuel reprocessing. Mature power systems have adopted nuclear power as base load energy. According to the statistics of German public power load in the 8th week of 2023 by Energy Charts, within 168 hours of the whole week, wind power and photovoltaic output were unstable, thermal power responded to peak load according to demand, but its domestic nuclear power generation power has been maintained at about 2980MW.

The stable supply of electricity is an important guarantee for economic development, and the stable output attribute of nuclear power has been paid attention to. Since the second half of 2021, the high price of domestic power coal and the difficult transmission of costs have led to a shortage of supply of thermal power plants, a sharp decline in regional new energy output during overlapping parts of the period, and the situation of "power rationing" in many parts of the country. According to the Barometer of the Completion of dual-Control Energy consumption Targets in various Regions in the first half of 2021 issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, 12 regions, including Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, showed a grim situation in terms of energy consumption reduction and total energy consumption. In order to complete the "double control" task, some provinces began to take the fastest measures such as power limiting, limiting production, aluminum, metal, chemical and other industries have been affected to varying degrees, the photovoltaic industry in the polysilicon, photovoltaic glass, photovoltaic bracket upstream of the main material industry silicon, soda ash, steel, aluminum and other industries face limited production pressure, Wind power is also affected to varying degrees, which has a negative impact on the low-carbon energy transition.