nuclear-news

“The current [nuclear] safety situation isn’t optimistic,” the report
said.

 

“Its official nuclear capacity target for 2020 for now is 40 GW, less than 5
percent of its current total installed capacity, but enough to power Spain.”

By China Media News

(Reuters) – China will have
to spend around 80 billion yuan ($12.74 billion) by 2015 to upgrade the security
of its nuclear facilities and radioactive contamination control to international
standards, a report issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection
said.

China, which has an ambitious plan to build as many as 100 reactors over the
next two decades, imposed a ban on approving new nuclear power plants after
Japan’s nuclear crisis in March 2011 and ordered nationwide safety checks on its
41 plants.

The report, which laid out a road map for China’s nuclear safety to reach
international standards by 2020, suggested the government was moving closer to
restarting the approval process for reactor expansion.

It evaluated safety in China’s nuclear-power industry and recommended phasing
out older nuclear reactors sooner, sharing and improving access to information,
enhancing the research and development of nuclear safety and improving the
handling of radioactive waste.

“The current [nuclear] safety situation isn’t optimistic,” the report
said.

“China has multiple types of nuclear reactors, multiple technologies and
multiple standards of safety, which makes them hard to manage,” it said, adding
that the operation and construction of nuclear reactors must improve.

The report did not specify when approvals for new plants would resume or
mention capacity goals.

State media have said China, which currently has installed nuclear capacity
of 12.57 gigawatts, will likely scale down its 2020 nuclear power generation
capacity target to 60-70 gigawatts (GW) compared with earlier expectations of
around 80 GW.

Its official nuclear capacity target for 2020 for now is 40 GW, less than 5
percent of its current total installed capacity, but enough to power Spain.

($1 = 6.2640 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting By Fayen Wong; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait)

http://www.chinamedia.com/2012/10/18/china-issues-nuclear-safety-blueprint-eyes-13-billion-investment-2/