At the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, the installed capacity of nuclear power in China will reach 58 million kilowatts, and the number of units under construction will exceed 30 million kilowatts. The total number of generating units will be the second largest in the world.

On March 23, Ministry of Environmental Protection (National Nuclear Safety Administration), National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, National Energy Administration, National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau and other ministries jointly issued the Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Pollution Prevention and Control 13th Five-Year Planning and The Vision of the Year 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”) summarizing the work of nuclear safety and radioactive pollution prevention and control.

It is worth noting that at present, there are 20 nuclear power units under construction in China, and the number of nuclear power units under construction is the largest in the world. During the period of the 13th Five-Year Plan, China's nuclear power will continue developing.

Whether inland nuclear power will start has been a concern in the industry. In response to this question, Lishan Shi, the Deputy Director of the Nuclear Power Division of the National Energy Administration, said: “China attaches great importance to the construction of inland nuclear power, and fully listens to social and experts’ opinions. At present there is no timetable for the construction of inland nuclear power since China's coastal areas have sufficient resources.”

In-depth Demonstration of Inland Nuclear Power Related Work

According to the medium and long-term development plan for nuclear power, by 2020, the operating nuclear power installed capacity will reach 58 million kilowatts, and the capacity under construction will exceed 30 million kilowatts.

Under the requirement of accelerating the development of non-fossil energy, nuclear power has become the focus of social attention. At the same time, after more than 30 years of rapid development of coastal nuclear power, when to launch inland nuclear power construction has become the focus of attention.

Lishan Shi explained that in terms of technology, inland nuclear power has no particularity. It is the same as the safety requirements and technical management of coastal nuclear power. The reason why some places now have some concerns about inland nuclear power mainly worried about the influence in the event of an accident may be greater than the coast. However, nuclear power technology is constantly improving. Today's nuclear power technology is completely different from the level and technology maturity of the units built 30 years ago. From the perspective of China's current technology and management, accidents are completely under control.

So, when will the inland nuclear power be really started? Is there a plan?

In March of this year, the Implementation Plan for Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hebei Province was issued. The document mentioned to develop nuclear power safely and efficiently; to build the Haixing Nuclear Power and Nuclear Fuel Industrial Park in Cangzhou; to promote the inland nuclear power in places like Chengde Changhe, Tangshan Jidong; to launch small nuclear  reactor heating demonstration projects.

Lishan Shi emphasized that China attaches great importance to the construction of inland nuclear power and will fully listen to the opinions of the society and experts. At present, there is no timetable for the construction of inland nuclear power since China's coastal areas have sufficient resources. Therefore, the priority is given to promoting the construction of nuclear power in coastal areas, in-depth demonstrating the technical characteristics and management requirements of inland nuclear power, and earnestly doing well all the preliminary work.

“With the advancement of technology and the development of economy, the public's understanding is constantly improving. In the future, there will be enough time and space to discuss the future development of nuclear power, including the development of inland nuclear power.” Lishan Shi said.

China's Nuclear Power Units will Rank the Second in the World

China is a large country in the use of nuclear energy and technology. There are 36 nuclear power units in operation and 20 under construction. The number of nuclear power units under construction is the largest in the world. According to the medium and long-term development plan of nuclear power, by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, the number of nuclear power units in China will be the second largest in the world.

However, with the rapid development of nuclear power, spent fuel treatment and radioactive waste disposal are facing important challenges.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the disposal of spent fuel and radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is an important issue affecting the development of nuclear power in China. Among them, China's nuclear power plant spent fuel storage is safe and stable, but some nuclear power plants have a shortage of spent fuel storage capacity in the reactor, and the demand for outward transportation is urgent. During the "Twelfth Five-Year" period, with the whole industry's joint efforts, China's radioactive waste treatment has been actively progressed; however, due to various reasons, at present, some radioactive wastes in China still have not been finally disposed of, mainly because of the insufficient capacity of radioactive waste treatment and disposal, which is not compatible with the development speed of the nuclear industry.

For this purpose, the "Plan" pointed out in the target that in 2020, in terms of improving the level of prevention and control of radioactive pollution, the early decommissioning of nuclear facilities should achieve remarkable results, basically eliminating the safety risks of historically low and medium level radioactive waste, and forming the ability on radioactive waste treatment and disposal capacity that is compatible with the development of China's nuclear industry. Basically complete the decommissioning and environmental restoration of uranium mines that were shut down before 2010, and comprehensively complete the environmental management of historical uranium geological exploration facilities in key areas.

At the same time, the "Plan" pointed out in specific measures to promote the safe storage and disposal of spent fuel. The safety review requirements for spent fuel near-pile dry storage facilities in nuclear power plants shall be clearly defined in accordance with the law, and the construction of spent fuel from the heap storage capacity shall be accelerated.

Promote the treatment and disposal of radioactive solid waste from nuclear power. Publish and implement the Medium and Low-level Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal Site Plan, Conduct site selection and construction of 5 medium and low level solid waste disposal sites; accelerate research on disposal of high level radioactive waste. Start building Constructions of underground laboratories for geological disposal of high-level wastes, and complete screening for 2-3 alternative sites for geological disposal.

In addition, in the vision of 2025 the Plan requires that the radioactive waste be safely disposed of in a timely manner. (Author: Biao Li)