Equipment manufacturing companies eagerly look forward to the countdown to the restart of nuclear power construction

For security reasons, after the nuclear power accident in Japan, China quickly suspended the approval of nuclear power projects. Over the past year or so, after several careful deliberations and explorations, it is a consensus that China needs to continue to develop nuclear power. However, the approval of new projects has not been opened yet, and the opening of gates has become the biggest concern of all walks of life.

Not long ago, good news finally appeared. The State Council passed the "Twelve Five-Year Plan for Nuclear Safety and Prevention of Radioactive Pollution and the Vision for 2020" ("Nuclear Safety Plan"). The nuclear power community seems to see hope becoming a reality. .

“The adoption of the “Nuclear Safety Plan” shows the country’s determination and leading ideology for the safe and efficient development of nuclear power. From a time point of view, the restart of nuclear power projects will be triggered immediately.” Recently, Zhao Zhixiang, a member of the National People’s Congress’s Environment and Resources Protection Committee and a senior nuclear power expert In an interview with reporters, he said optimistically that "the approval of the gate has been in a critical state."

The four elements of nuclear power restart have already become the countries with the most nuclear power projects under construction in the world. China's every move has attracted special attention. In fact, there are only one core issue that most people are most concerned about, namely when will nuclear power construction be restarted.

In response, the relevant person in charge of the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association told the reporter that the restart of the project must meet at least four conditions. First, it depends on the results of major safety inspections conducted at domestic nuclear facilities. Second, compile and complete the "Nuclear Safety Plan." The third is to prepare and amend "Nuclear Power Safety Plan" and "Nuclear Power Medium and Long Term Development Plan". Fourth, it is necessary to sum up the experiences and lessons of the nuclear accident in Japan.

At present, China's nuclear power plant safety inspection has basic conclusions: In addition to local problems that need to be rectified or closed, the overall level of nuclear power plant nuclear power plant management is good, and the risk is controllable.

Nuclear safety inspections have already provided safeguards for the operation of existing nuclear power projects, and the adoption of the "Nuclear Safety Plan" has allowed new construction projects to be released and new cornerstones have been laid.

According to Zhao Zhixiang, “The recent Nuclear Power Safety Plan and the Nuclear Power Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan have been submitted to the State Council by the National Energy Administration and are expected to be officially released soon.” Then, there is a constraint on the policy level. .

Not long ago, related departments revised and reviewed the "National Nuclear Emergency Plan" and "The 12th Five-Year Plan" of the National Nuclear Emergency Work. It is understood that the revision of the "National Nuclear Emergency Plan" system is based on the requirements of the State Council, summarizing lessons learned from the Wenchuan Earthquake and the Japanese Fukushima nuclear accident. The purpose is to improve the nuclear emergency plan system and improve the effectiveness of the entire system. This is also seen as the last important basic work for the restart of nuclear power. At this point, from the safety planning to the emergency protection, China’s nuclear power restart has been fully prepared.

The complex factors affect the subsequent development of nuclear power: “The restart of nuclear power is getting closer and closer, but many follow-up issues are still worth paying attention to,” Zhao Zhixiang explained. “The first question is whether the models need to be unified. The second is whether the new batch of projects is built inland or not. The final step is to determine how much the installed capacity will reach and how the pace of development will be regulated. If these issues cannot be coordinated and resolved, then the nuclear power industry will not be able to achieve stable and rapid development."

According to Zhao Zhixiang, the nuclear power community has already discussed the use of nuclear power units in the future. The main opinion is that the new projects should be based on the third-generation nuclear power generators. This also means that the future AP1000 in the United States and the EPR in France will dominate the nuclear power market. Zhao Zhixiang does not oppose the active construction of these two models, but he stressed that if it is only three generations, it will shut out China's nuclear power technology with independent intellectual property rights. This will have serious consequences for the independent development of China’s nuclear power.

At present, China's second-generation improved nuclear power unit has approached or reached international advanced technology. In addition, some domestic nuclear power technologies, such as fast reactors, have even reached the fourth generation and are in a leading position. It is necessary for China to support nuclear power technology with independent intellectual property rights, and guide China’s nuclear power and even the use of nuclear energy to truly move toward me and sustainable development.

As for the adjustment of the installed capacity of China's nuclear power plants in the medium to long term, Zhao Zhixiang speculated that by 2020 it will be between 65 and 70 million kilowatts. This speculation is very close to the expectations of a senior official from a former National Energy Administration. According to the high-level sources, the original 80 million kilowatts of the National Energy Administration was indeed somewhat watery. This is mainly due to increasing enthusiasm for construction. At present, China’s investment in nuclear power is maintained at a scale of 70 billion yuan each year. This is a great temptation for any province that is looking to stimulate the local economy.

"70 million kilowatts is equivalent to 70 million-kilowatt nuclear power units," Zhao Zhixiang said. "According to domestic manufacturing capacity, fuel supply, and waste reprocessing capacity, the speed of building two or three nuclear power plants each year should be appropriate."

Equipment manufacturing companies look forward to restarting as soon as possible At present, for the restart of new nuclear power project approvals, nuclear power equipment manufacturing seems to be more urgent than ever.

A senior person from Shanghai No. 1 Machine Tool Factory told reporters, “Although our current orders are scheduled for the end of next year, this does not mean we can rest easy. The manufacture of nuclear power equipment is complex and the competition is fierce. The current state of the company is under construction and many new equipment is for nuclear power projects."

Now, when it comes to restarting nuclear power projects, it is still unknown. “If project approvals are never opened, it will not be a single company. All companies involved in the manufacture of nuclear power equipment will be affected. Production equipment will also be affected. The situation of idleness is very detrimental to the long-term development of the industry."

Zhao Zhixiang further pointed out: "If companies spend a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources, they will only produce one or a few nuclear power equipment. This is contrary to the rules of business operations."

He said that the country should restart the approval of new nuclear power projects as soon as possible. The nuclear power project will drive the rapid development of China's equipment manufacturing industry, improve the overall capability of nuclear power equipment manufacturing, and the most important thing is to form China's nuclear power at the time of the formation of industrial scale production conditions. The cost will be reduced accordingly, and it will have long-term strategic significance for China's nuclear power exports.

Nuclear-related companies are looking forward to the future development of nuclear power. Guangdong Dongfang Zirconium Technology Co., Ltd. Secretary of the Board of Directors Chen Enmin told China Industry News reporter that at present, "the delay of nuclear power project approval has no direct impact on the company." It is understood that the company produces nuclear grade sponge zirconium, with a production capacity of 150 tons per year, close to the entire domestic 1% of market share.

He said that despite the nuclear leakage incident in Japan last year that caused people to argue about the application of nuclear power, in the company's view, China will continue to use nuclear energy safely and efficiently. Because "nuclear energy is unparalleled in terms of its clean, high-efficiency, and emission reduction advantages, its contribution to the achievement of monitoring targets such as fine particulate matter cannot be underestimated."

Now, the door to the restart of nuclear power has gradually opened. Not too long ago, China and Russia signed the "Protocol on the Cooperative Building of Units 3 and 4 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in China." Zhao Zhixiang told reporters that we must pay attention to the approval process of this project, because China is very likely to use this project as a starting point for the restart of nuclear power.