Nuclear boom to light up China
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China is betting on the nuclear power industry as the government seeks to readjust the country's energy mix for sustainable development.
Zhang Dawei, vice governor of Henan Province, said Tuesday that four nuclear power plants are in the works in the Henan cities of Nanyang, Xinyang, Luoyang and Pingdingshan.
Hainan also reportedly started to move forward Sunday on its nuclear reactor - part of its Changjiang nuclear power project.
Other provinces with nuclear power plans include Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan and Hubei.
Huge expansion in the sector has triggered IPO interest from China National Nuclear Corp, the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corp.
"China is the country with most nuclear power plants under construction," Zhao Xiaoma, a senior consultant with Frost & Sullivan China, told the Global Times Wednesday.
By the end of September, China had an installed nuclear power capacity of 9,190 megawatts, with 27,730 megawatts under construction, Xinhua News Agency reported.
"Nuclear power has good potential in China, as the nation can hardly find (suitable sites) for small hydropower plants with a capacity of less than 10 million watts, and wind power has a poor (track record) of operational performance," Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times Wednesday.
With the accelerated development of China's nuclear power industry, the National Energy Administration predicts that its nuclear goals may be achieved earlier than planned, and nuclear power capacity may reach 70,000 - 80,000 megawatts by 2020, Xinhua reported.
Frost & Sullivan predicted in a recent report that China will see 980 billion yuan ($145.73 billion) worth of investments in this sector in the next 10 years.
"China is adopting 2.5-generation technologies, and may use third-generation in the future, but that technology has not been commercially implemented overseas yet," Lin said.
Zhao from Frost & Sullivan also expressed concerns over possible leaks. In June, a small leak occured at the Daya Bay nuclear power station in Shenzhen was widely reported.
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