Strategies on Nuclear Power use in China

Running Head: STRATEGIES ON NUCLEAR POWER USE IN CHINA
DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR POWER IN CHINA
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University
Course
Lecture
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Nuclear power in China today
This research paper discusses the impact that nuclear power skill has brought to the Chinese economy. Critically looking at the history of nuclear power since it first got in to the Chinese country. The development stages, it looks at the measures that the policies that the government has put in place to ensure a complete adoption of nuclear power. Safety being one of the main concerns in nuclear power is also explained. In my discussion I, also look at several challenges that are still facing nuclear power production as well as the skeptic`s that surrounds` the whole technology. Explaining, the popular fears, costs of nuclear power and the future role that nuclear power technology will tend to play in the Chinese economy. Politics on how fossil fuels are polluting the environment and the preference for hydro in the production of nuclear power is also discussed. Therefore this paper takes you through the history behind China`s nuclear power development and up to where we are today.
Introduction
China is considered to be the second largest world`s economy from the United States of America. With this in mind; therefore, there is more production of goods to meet the large markets demands. This has resulted to increased power usage, putting pressure on the existing means of power production. In China, electrical energy is mainly produced from fossil fuel and use of water turbines. But due to the with the enlarged growth in demand there has been power shortages, also the greater dependence on fossil fuels has lead to greenhouse gasses. The World Bank puts the loss caused by air pollution to be about 6% of the GDP. In the past one year (i.e. 2009), power shortages where greatly reported in the central provinces, Hubei in particular, and at central china grid company in December.
Coal is the main source of power in china, it is mainly found in the northwestern side of the republic. Due to its bulkiness, it has over the year`s caused a major transportation problem. Since it is transported through the rail, coal takes almost half of the rails transport. Generation of electricity in china is produced by coal powered plants. This has made electricity production to be one of the activities contributing to air pollution, thus the reason as to why nuclear power should be increased to a greater share. Recent survey show that, China emits greener house related gasses like carbon dioxide than the United States. All this translates to the important role that nuclear power has to play. Nuclear power is most needed along the Chinese coast where most of the coal mines are situated and where there is tremendous development of the economy. Construction of the nuclear power plants has also been based in areas where electricity demand is high. That is in areas where hydro and wind powers have fallen short of the electricity demand (Daogang, 2010).
Development
It is not until 1970s that there was the move to establish nuclear power plants in china. Since then there has been an increased development of the nuclear plants where new technologies are being adapted. Nuclear expertises have been acquired from Canada, France and Russia. China has adopted the French technology. There has been application of the latest technology in china developed in the United States of America and in France. Westinghouse AP1000 has been described as the basis on which future technology shall be built on. The government of china has over the years increased its targets for nuclear power. Recently, in June 2010 new capacity targets which were set for the years 2020 to 2050 respectively were 80GWe by 2020, 200GWe by 2030 and by 2050 to be at 400GWe.
China`s National Nuclear Corporation is expected to spend in excess of $120 billion in nuclear energy creation projects by the year 2020.This was reported by the china`s daily news paper in September this year. The report also indicated that, by the end of 2015 china nuclear power Corporation will have attained the control of nuclear power production to the magnitude of $75 billion. Plans to list the China`s National Nuclear Corporation`s subsidiaries are also underway. This is mainly to attract key investor in the nuclear industry (Dazhong, 2002).
Nuclear growth
By the end of the year 2007, there was 62.86 billion KWh which were being produced by the nuclear power plants. This represented a 2.3% of the total power production in the country. There has been an increase since then which currently stands at 8.6 GWe of the total power created by the completely installed nuclear power station. Qinshan, in the state of Shangai and Daya Bay near Hong Kong, where the first nuclear plants to be constructed in the mainland china in the mid 80s.China`s desire to expand its nuclear power production can be traced from the year 2001. This began with the creation of the National Development and Reform Commission which created the 10th economic plan covering 2001 to 2005.then, later there was the 11th economic plan which was set to cover the years 2006 to today i.e. the year 2010.the 11th economic plan had / has more well laid strategies than the 10th economic plan which would definitely lead to attainment of the targets. These targets include construction of new nuclear third generation reactors plants at Sanmen Zhejiang county and Haiyang station in Shandong county (Zhongliang, 2001).
Recently, there has been an increased intention from various municipalities and regions within china to construct more nuclear power plants in the next 5 year economic plan. Most of the projects have already gotten the primary approval from the central government, though they are not yet ready to begin construction works. In the year 2009 the National Development Reform Commission Received many proposals to approve construction of nuclear plants where by some had to be passed to the next economic year plan.ie the 13th plan.
This rapid construction of nuclear reactor has made China call for international help from the United States. This is because; China does not want a case similar to the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 which occurred within the district of Pennsylvania in the United States, happening to its people. The governments main concern is to keep a cross watch to contractors who might not be fully qualified to take on such big construction or those who may have the idea of taking short cuts during the construction processes (Daogang, 2010).
The government has reported that the demand for electricity is growing very highly in china such that even with the nuclear energy producing industries achieving their set goals by 2020, nuclear power production will only cater for a 9.7 % of the required power in the country. It is believed that, adoption of nuclear power would by a greater extent reduce global warming gasses emitted by producing electricity using coal by at least 5%. China is by all means trying to improve on its energy efficiencies. This is in relation to reduction of carbon dioxide produced from its industries. Further observations have it that, in fact if china was to achieve its vision 2020, there would be more carbon dioxide produced estimated at between 72 to 88%. As mentioned earlier, china`s main challenge is to establish and run its nuclear reactors without what happened in Pennsylvania where a reactors core melted partly and radioactivity was released, which was an almost equivalent to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986in the former soviet Union. This marked the world`s biggest disaster to have ever occurred to civilians caused by nuclear reactors.
Efforts have been made to ensure that accidents in the likes of the above mentioned do not occur. China has completely avoided the use of the reactors that were used at Chernobyl, and there has been rigorous study on the case of Three Mile Island, which is believed to have resulted due to poorly trained workers (Daogang, 2010).
Objective
China has gained adequate experience in the construction of nuclear power. To day there are 9 nuclear energy stations in action within the mainland of china and 2 more are almost starting operations. Proper safety conditions have been maintained within the operating plants and there has been a continuous improvement on how to manage the plants properly.
One of the most important aspects in sustaining nuclear power production is having a well trained human resource. The Chinese government has invested greatly in training staff on nuclear power production and management. This is because, lack of proper or insufficient human resource leads to stalled development in the production of nuclear energy. Nuclear science has been introduced at the universities both at the undergraduate levels and at graduate levels. This has also seen the establishment of vocational training which combines both school based training and on-job training programs. Therefore there has been an increase in number of trained professionals being injected to the industry after every year from the Chinese universities. Nuclear power companies also do offer trainings to their worker, this is to increase their efficiency and in innovativeness.
Currently, Chinese government is faced with lack of enough qualified personnel to properly manage the required expansion. This is in relation to the statement by the Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. It has given that; there is a call for about13, 000 graduate trainees for nuclear creation in the next 15 years. Chinese universities have been just a few graduates yet in the area of nuclear science... In answer to this, Guangdong Nuclear Power Company has created unique programs connected to nuclear power to purposely promote the growth plans (Zhongliang, 2001).
China has for the last past years been on the fore front in the growth of new nuclear technologies. This attempt has been heading for its nuclear long tern goal. High temperature pebble bed reactor skill has been introduced to Chinese by china`s own expatriates who skilled at the Juelich Research Institute in Germany. Pebble bed reactors, are the initial of the invention IV nuclear knowledge that is so superior that, it`s measured to be in front of other technology by 10 to 20 years. The Chinese believe that this expertise is high-quality sufficient to offer adequate electrical energy for family use and profitable purpose as well as an option to heavy oil and coal meting out reducing greenhouse gasses.
The pebble bed reactors have been in action at the Juelich Research Institute for 22 years. in the course of the German engineers, a Chinese university i.e. , the Tsinghai university institute of nuclear power knowledge , has planned and build a 10 Mw high temp helium cooled reactor which has the capacity of producing 4 Mw of power by means of vapor turbines. Given that the reactor began operation in the year 2000 in December, presently no complication or complain connected to safety, this prove that, the process has approved all the protection tests. At present this is the only pebble bed reactor that is in action in the entire globe. Owing to its innovativeness, China has in excess of ten years enhanced on this skill where the station produce 190 Mw at complete level. Presently, efforts by the government to endorse for the creation of one more station which resolve use pebble bed reactors knowledge at Weihai in Shandong region beginning in 2007, aim that the plant will begin operation by the year 2011.
To efficiently run and encourage nuclear growth in China, the government runs the nuclear business through side to side subsidiaries, where the government main position is to put down the plan, with the execution being approved by the different government organization. China Atomic Energy Authority is the major organization in China that has the complete authorization to be in charge of nuclear power manufacture and application. The state commission on Development and planning core duty is to supervise the endorsement of all the nuclear schemes in China. It the obligation of the commission on development and planning, to issue reports on the accepted projects to the panel of Science, Technology and Industry for Defense. This panel is in charge for all the conveniences that are linked with the cycle of nuclear fuel and the management of the radioactive dissipates. The busine...