China to start on new nuclear plants by year-end - former NEA head
Shanghai. March 19. INTERFAX-CHINA - Construction of approved nuclear plants will resume before the end of the year, Zhang Guobao, former head of China's National Energy Administration (NEA), said at an economic forum in Beijing on March 17.
Beijing suspended its nuclear power program last March to conduct safety reviews following the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant. The safety reviews were conducted by National Nuclear Safety Administration, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the China Earthquake Administration along with the NEA, and concluded in October.
While the global nuclear power industry is still reeling from the Fukushima nuclear crisis, China plans to move forward with ambitious nuclear power plans despite the industry's unpopular public image, Zhang said at the China Development Forum 2012.
Renewable energy sources will only be able to supply between 20 and 30 percent of the world's power demand in the long-term, said Zhang, adding that the scarcity of renewable energy sources made abandoning nuclear power unrealistic.
The former official questioned Germany's plan to stop using nuclear power completely by 2020 and said that countries the world over will eventually need to return to nuclear power as a source of affordable, reliable energy.
Data from the International Atomic Energy Agency shows that China has 16 operational nuclear reactors totaling 12.56 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, accounting for approximately 1.85 percent of the 2011 energy mix. By 2020, the country plans to boost its nuclear installed capacity to 80 GW by expanding the number of reactors to 24, Xinhua news agency said Feb. 16.
Planned nuclear power plants awaiting central government approval
| Name | Location |
| Wuhu Nuclear Power Plant | Anhui Province |
| Guidong Nuclear Power Plant | Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| Dafan Nuclear Power Plant | Hubei Province |
| Changede Nuclear Power Plant | Hunan Province |
| Datang Huayin Nuclear Power Plant | Hunan Province |
| Sanming Nuclear Power Plant | Fujian Province |
| Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant | Zhangzhou, Fujian Province |
| Jilin Nuclear Power Plant | Jilin Province |
| 2nd Liaoning Nuclear Power Plant | Liaoning Province |
| Sichuan Nuclear Power Plant | Sichuan Province |
| Chongqing Shizhu Nuclear Power Plant | Chongqing Municipality |
| Shidao Nuclear Power Plant | Shandong Province |
| Jiangxi Nuclear Power Plant | Jiangxi Province |
| 2nd phase of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant | Jiangsu Province |
Source: NEA, National Development and Reform Commission
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