Analysis of the advantages and development prospects of nuclear power generation

Iii. Prospects for nuclear power generation

As a safe, reliable, clean and economical energy, nuclear energy has become the first choice of some developed countries and the trend of China's energy development. In recent years, according to the forecast of the economic construction and social development of countries around the world, the threat of global warming caused by the lack of energy resources and the greenhouse effect, coupled with the obvious advantages of nuclear power for environmental protection, will make the nuclear power industry flourish. As an advanced energy source, nuclear energy will play an important role in meeting future energy demand. In countries where the economy of the third world takes off, conventional energy production cannot meet the requirements of economic development, and it is necessary to supplement power generation capacity with nuclear power. Nuclear power plants built in the 1960s and 1970s in industrialized countries are coming to an end and new nuclear power is needed to replace them.

The sustainable development strategy and the goal of carbon neutrality and carbon peak have been accepted by many countries, organizations and most countries in the world, and actively take measures to prevent and control pollution and protect the ecological environment. Because nuclear energy has three advantages of economy, safety and no pollution, developing carbon-based alternative fuel of nuclear energy is one of the practical and effective measures and paths to implement sustainable development strategy, achieve the double carbon goal, prevent pollution and protect the ecological environment.

The future nuclear energy must be accepted by the public, and its public acceptance will become one of the important factors determining the scale of nuclear energy development. Nuclear energy has been from the climax of the 1960s and 1970s into a low tide, in addition to the world economy from the rapid development stage to the stage of stable development, energy and power demand growth declined significantly, nuclear energy development process also occurred Three Mile Island and Chernobyl two major nuclear accidents, caused public panic. Public acceptance and safety concerns have become a major obstacle to the development of nuclear energy, but also an important reason.

Judging from the general trend of nuclear power development, the technical and strategic routes of China's nuclear power development have long been clear and are being implemented. By the first quarter of 2022, China has built 54 nuclear power units in operation, with an installed nuclear power capacity of 54.43 million kilowatts, all of which are distributed in coastal areas, and coastal areas will remain key areas for nuclear power construction in the future. The third generation nuclear power technology has been more mature, with higher safety and economy, it is expected that in the next period of time, the new construction of nuclear power technology is still dominated by the third generation nuclear power technology. China's nuclear power generation is increasing year by year, and its proportion in the power structure is also expanding. As of January to May 2022, China's nuclear power generation is 166.3 billion KWH, an increase of 4.5% over the same period in 2021, and the proportion is increased to 5.1%. Overall, the current proportion is still small, but there is a large room for subsequent permeability improvement. With the support of national policies and the promotion of electricity marketization, the future of nuclear energy development is promising!