Insight Web Extra
May 2009—China last month became the “launch customer” for Westinghouse’s Generation III+ nuclear reactor technology, as construction began there for the world’s first AP1000 advanced pressurized water reactors.
In the first of three phases, two 1,100 megawatt units will be built at Sanmen on the east coast south of Shanghai. They are expected to go online and by 2013 and 2014, respectively.
A 2007 agreement between Westinghouse and China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. called for four AP1000 units, two at Sanmen and two at Haiyang City in eastern Shandong province. The Sanmen site eventually will have 6 units.
Visiting Sanmen at the ceremony marking the first concrete pour for the nuclear island basemat, Westinghouse president and CEO Aris Candris said, “The People’s Republic of China is taking a leadership position in building its infrastructure and developing a comprehensive energy strategy that will support economic growth in an environmentally acceptable manner. Westinghouse is proud to be a part of this effort.”
The concrete basemat will serve as the foundation for the nuclear island buildings including the containment vessel and the shield building. The AP1000 is an innovative reactor design, featuring much simplified and reduced piping, valve and cable systems, pre-constructed components that are transported to the site for final assembly, and passive safety systems that rely on processes like gravity and natural convection. Westinghouse believes this design simplicity will result in a 36-month construction schedule.
The AP1000 is the intended design for 14 new reactors to be built in the United States. It also is one of the identified designs being assessed by the United Kingdom for its new nuclear reactor fleet.
China currently has 11 nuclear reactors at six sites with a total combined capacity of nine million kilowatts, all sited on the east coast. China plans a total nuclear generation capacity of 40 million kilowatts by 2020, doubling the current percentage of nuclear capacity to four percent.
Speaking at the Sanmen inauguration ceremony, Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang urged making more efforts to develop new energy sources to ensure the country’s energy security and boost economic growth. He underscored innovation as the key to nuclear power development, calling for enterprises to adopt advanced technology and enhance self-innovation.
Increasingly involved in global efforts against climate change, China is also promoting renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy but is expected to continue relying heavily on coal and oil for its electricity. Chinese officials acknowledge that, with its economy still growing, reducing overall carbon emissions might not be easy; however, the government is considering introducing targets to reduce the energy intensity and carbon intensity of new energy sources.
Each megawatt-hour of electricity in China requires 868 kilograms of carbon, compared with 611 kilograms in the United States and just 88 kilograms in France, which produces 80 percent of its electricity from clean nuclear energy.
Su Wei, a leader of China’s climate change negotiating team, said, “China hasn’t reached the stage where we can reduce overall emissions, but we can reduce energy intensity and carbon intensity.”
The deployment of new nuclear energy plants in China will go some way toward this goal.
—Read more articles in Nuclear Energy Insight and Insight Web Extra.