China Takes Nuclear Crown

A few articles out recently discuss China's nuclear push. China doesn't have the crown yet, but nuclear power take a long time to go from planning to completion and barring a major surprise, China is on pace to dominate the market within a generation. Already, China is also considering the export potential of the industry, noting that one nuclear power station is equivalent to 1 million cars.

This article doesn't actually say how China is going to take over, but it does show the country is supporting the industy:
China making moves to overtake global nuclear power market

Additionally, the China National Nuclear Corporation and one of its subsidiaries -- China Nuclear Engineering -- is listing shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, for gross proceeds of $2.64 billion and $0.29 billion, respectively.

"China National Nuclear Corporation intends to issue up to 3.651 billion shares, or 25 percent of its enlarged capital, at a price of CNY4.46 ($0.72) per share, for gross proceeds of up to CNY16.3 billion ($2.64 billion) in an initial public offering," Elias said. "The company intends to use these proceeds to finance its four nuclear power projects in Fujian, Zhejiang, Hainan and Jiangsu province, and for general working capital purposes."

Currently, China has 20 active nuclear reactors, with 28 more under construction and another 10 that are to begin commercial operation between 2017 and 2025.

This article misses a crucial factor in China's nuclear industry: post-Fukushima, the government slowed construction due to safety concerns. Which Is More Scalable, Nuclear Energy Or Wind Energy?

Meanwhile, globally nuclear capacity has diminished and is expected to continue to diminish for the next several years as France shuts off 33% of its fleet in favour of mostly wind energy, Germany shuts off its fleet entirely, Ontario intends to move from 55% to 42% supply from nuclear according to its draft long term energy plan and aging reactors globally reach end-of-life with no economic refurbishment possible. Japan will be able to restart at most a third of the reactors it shut down after Fukushima according to knowledgeable sources.

In empirical terms, it doesn’t matter what anybody claims is theoretically possible: wind energy is growing rapidly while nuclear is going backwards. That’s reality.

I expect this is going to change in China and India with both working on thorium reactors, but those are long-term goals, not immediate. China clearly wants domestically produced power in any form: coal, wind, nuclear, hydro, solar, all good.

China isn't necessarily targeting global markets with its energy push, but China has fewer competitors now that Germany is out. China's nuclear boom leaves Germany isolated

But so far, Germany has failed to convince others of the advantages of a nuclear exit. On the contrary: the current trendsetter is China. Beijing aims to increase the number of nuclear power stations in the country from a current 15 to 71 by 2020. The amount of nuclear electricity is to rise from a current 13 gigawatts to 160 gigawatts by 2040. Compare this to the US, which currently produces 101 gigawatts of energy with nuclear power.

Within one generation, China is poised to become the world's top nuclear nation. And there's an easy explanation. There is hardly any region along China's entire east coast and also in the heavily industrialized south where air pollution doesn't reach alarming levels at least a few days per month. Beijing also invests in renewable sources of energy – China has long become the top global player in wind energy as well as solar power stations.

......Siemens and other German suppliers meanwhile have no chance of benefiting – they are bound to Germany's nuclear phase-out – even if atomic reactors built by German engineers were always considered the safest in the world.

China is eyeing the global market though. Here's a Chinese article titled, Exporting 1 Nuclear Power Plant Is Equal To Exporting 1 Million VW Santanas (媒体：出口一个核电站相当于出口100万辆桑塔纳轿车)

Since Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant since the nuclear accident, China's nuclear power project approval has been suspended more than three years. Since last year, increasing calls to restart nuclear power projects, one in two of the country in 2014, 11 of the CPPCC National Committee jointly called on countries to support China's nuclear power go out, the second is the President Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang Premier 2014 spring and summer in Europe, Latin America several times during the visit to promote China's nuclear power.

The most widely circulated argument is that export a nuclear power plant is equivalent to export one million Santana cars. This argument has become the most powerful nuclear power go out footnotes. But in the industry, whether China should restart nuclear power projects, especially for nuclear power projects should be launched in the interior, there has been a lot of controversy. For the safety of nuclear power, nuclear power and other topics go, "China Business" reporter recently interviewed China Nuclear Industry Association vice chairman Zhao Chengkun, Xiamen , director of the China Center for Economic Research, University of LinBoJiang energy, resources and environmental policy researcher at the Institute of the State Council Development Research Center, Wang Yinan .

Debate: governance haze VS demand security risk

"China Business": Recently, China's attitude toward nuclear power has undergone great changes. Earlier, after the Fukushima nuclear accident, our attitude was "five-second" period is no longer considering a new batch of nuclear power projects; recently, attitudes authorities to "promptly begin to" nuclear power related projects. What a reversal of the official attitude of the reason is?

Lin Bo: original argument is the "second five" period no longer consider inland nuclear power projects, recently became the official attitude "seize the start," the most important reason is the haze of governance. Governance haze makes large-scale development of clean energy has become very urgent, while nuclear power is among the most expensive clean energy, clean and cheap, but also the government has been very wanted.

After Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident, nuclear power projects we feel the need to slow a slow, can not now be so tight. Now, Japan's nuclear accident in the past few years, and restart the space out. For these reasons in a pro, I think it is almost time to restart.

Wang Yinan: China's nuclear power "Great Leap Forward" because the Japanese Fukushima nuclear accident emergency brake, but with the 2013 haze governance has become the focus, and restart the voice of inland nuclear power has gained momentum. Some view that, compared with coal, no nuclear power carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, particulate matter and other pollutants discharged into "meet China's energy development needs to address China's environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emission reduction targets realistic and important way. "

"China Business": nuclear power industry on whether the project should be launched, especially inland nuclear power projects launched has been debated. Some experts believe that more than half of the world's nuclear power plants are inland nuclear power plant, so it is safe; Some experts believe that in the vicinity of major rivers and lakes inland nuclear power projects launched once the spill occurred, the consequences could be disastrous, what is your opinion ?

Wang Yinan: For nuclear power to destroy this particular human resources, risk assessment of nuclear power engineering, not only depends on the probability of the accident, but look at the consequences of the accident, must not because "the probability of an accident the first generations of nuclear technology has low ×× "And feel any" small probability event "fluke.

Governance haze, "Go Coal" undisputed, but in all aspects of safety, cleanliness, economy, etc., it is the strategic choice of nuclear power should not be the transformation of China's energy structure, especially within the development should not be at great risk Lu nuclear power.

LinBoJiang: controversy inland nuclear power projects is not important. Why? Because China's coastal also build nuclear power plants. If China does not need nuclear power on the scale, you do not need nuclear power projects launched in inland, coastal layout on it. Therefore, the discussion should be launched inland nuclear power projects under the premise problem is the size of China's nuclear power should do much. If you need to expand the scale of China's nuclear power, then the construction of nuclear power projects in inland inevitable, not so much because the coastal site resources.

Globally, governments in almost all countries want to develop nuclear power, because both clean and cheap nuclear power, comply with all the indicators, only do not want to do is public. Some countries have done a lot of nuclear power projects, because people let you do, some countries do very little, but also because people will not let you do that. For China, before the Chinese people did not say not to do nuclear power, the future people how to say, it is not certain.

"Going out": positive nuclear power industry chain

"China Business": Recently, because national leaders to promote diplomacy, nuclear power has become the go to go out with the same high-speed rail popular social issues, nuclear power is expected to go out prospects mean that China has become a nuclear power?

LinBoJiang: At present, the world's largest nuclear power market in China, because the vast majority of nuclear power projects under construction in China, which also led to the vast majority of the production capacity of nuclear power equipment in China, other countries produce nuclear power equipment in small, therefore, From the perspective of manufacturing equipment, in order to digest the production capacity of nuclear power is definitely needed to go out.

In nuclear technology, China's probably not the strongest, but the equipment manufacturers, China's definitely the strongest, scale the world's largest. In this case, nuclear power going out is inevitable. From now on, we are just one big country, not a nuclear power, in order to become a nuclear power, we must embark on the road of independent innovation.

Zhao Chengkun: In the long run, China's nuclear power companies need to go out on a place in the world, so as to stimulate domestic technological progress, industrial upgrading, in order to grasp the development trend of the world's energy, but also strong support for developing countries.

Currently, the challenges facing China's nuclear power companies, some projects have not been technical, economic, security, engineering test, go out there are certain difficulties. China Nuclear most important thing is to go out with independent intellectual property rights, the construction of a demonstration reactor, give us confidence.


"China Business": whether coastal or inland, China's many provinces are competing for nuclear power projects, coupled with the growing louder nuclear power go out from the face of the nuclear power industry, "Spring" seems to have a detailed analysis of what areas would be usher good?

Zhao Chengkun: The third-generation nuclear power technology will dominate the future of nuclear power market. Previously, our country has four nuclear reactors overseas, in Pakistan, are the second-generation technology. The last two years, China's nuclear power business in the overseas harvested four orders have been signed, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Romania, Argentina. Among them, the latest is exported to Pakistan with independent intellectual property rights of third generation nuclear power technology, which is China's nuclear power technology for the first time out of the country; most sensational is the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Project in the UK, this is the first time Chinese enterprises to enter the nuclear power countries market. For the Chinese nuclear power companies, the challenge is we have not yet independent intellectual property rights of three generations of nuclear reactors a landing.

LinBoJiang: Nuclear approval has been suspended for three years, which is related to the company's industrial chain big blow, and now want to restart nuclear power, and for the chain, it is a big plus