China may go ahead with nuke power expansion plans: expert

New nuclear power projects may be approved when the nuclear safety plan is announced in August, Lin Chengge, a senior expert at the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp Ltd (SNPTC), told the official 'China Daily'.

"I think China will use the most advanced third-generation technology in all future nuclear plants." Four reactors under construction will use the third-generation AP 1000 model designed by US company Westinghouse Electric and introduced by the SNPTC in 2006.

"One of the units will have 70 per cent of its components made in China," Lin said, adding "only the most advanced technology can restore people's confidence in nuclear safety."

On March 16, Chinese cabinet decided to halt new approvals of nuclear projects following crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant. After this China's National Nuclear Safety Administration ordered existing facilities to begin safety checks.

Subsequent reports said China plans to scale back it nuclear power generation plans by five per cent an instead would focus on enhancing targets of wind an solar power generation. China at present has 13 nuclear reactors and approved construction of 10 more mega nuclear reactors in addition to 25 currently being built to step up its nuclear power generation capacity to 86 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 with a massive investment of USD 121.5 billion.

According to China Nuclear Energy Association, China plans to build more than 60 reactors by 2020 by which time nuclear power will account for five per cent of the 15 per cent power generation from renewable sources.

According to China Daily, experts are divided on the technology to be adopted by China's future nuclear plants. "The second-generation nuclear technology that China has been using has no safety problems," said Pan Ziqiang, director of the Science and Technology Commission at the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), the largest nuclear plant operator in China, which uses second-generation technology.

CNNC is building two of the four reactors that will use third-generation technology. "Though third-generation technology is better, there is a process that takes some time from starting operations to perfecting the technology," he said.

Even though the speed and scale of China's nuclear development will be adjusted, subject to inspection results, dramatic changes are unlikely after the Japan accident, Lin said. China could add 12 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity annually in the near term and is expected to boast 70 to 80 GW by 2020, Zhou Dadi, director of China's Energy Research Institute, said.