China Nuclear Update

Yesterday in Beijing:

Chinese fast reactor nuclear power plant will likely supply electricity for Chinese electricity market 30 years later, said Wang Naiyan, the academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of China Institute of Atomic Energy, on June 7th in Beijing.

China will strive hard to make commercial use of its fast reactor nuclear system in around 2035 and make it the main source of nuclear power after 2050, according to the Mr. Wang's academic report delivered at the 13th China Science Institute Academic Conference.

Meanwhile, the world waits for China's decision on which foreign company will win a contract to build a new generation of nuclear reactors. But what really caught my attention in the Forbes story was this passage:

'Pebble-bed' technology is considered likely to form the core of China's next generation of nuclear plants.

It will be the first radical new reactor designed globally in decades and will put China at the forefront in nuclear energy research that offers a 'meltdown-proof' alternative to conventional nuclear power stations, reports said.

In a briefing here at NEI a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Kelvin Klemm, currently working as a consultant in South Africa on the PBMR project, had mentioned that China was very interested in the design. More confirmation that China will build PBMR's, here.

The National Development and Reform Commission also announced that construction will begin on the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant in Liaoning province next year.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Electricity, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, China, PBMR, South Africa