Launch of China's 1st inland nuclear power project denied

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-04-09

An illustration of the planned nuclear power plant. (Internet photo)

China is sticking to its ambitious plans to develop nuclear power, but the nation may be ill-prepared to cope with a major nuclear incident like the Fukushima meltdown of 2011. Especially vulnerable would be inland nuclear power facilities which lack outlets for dispelling polluted water in the event of a leak, reports Shanghai's China Business News.

Hunan-based Taohuajing Nuclear Power has denied rumors of its plans to start construction on an inland nuclear power plant which would be the country's first such facility. Drafts have been made for three inland nuclear power plants, but all still in the planning stages.

Taohuajing dismissed opposition to inland nuclear plants, citing the US and France as examples of countries where half of nuclear power facilities are located in inland areas.

In the wake of the Fukushima incident, the Chinese government has adopted a more cautious stance on inland nuclear projects, incorporating political implications into the policy review on top of the adjustment of energy structure.

Following Fukushima, the State Council suspended the approval of nuclear power projects in 2011, including those in the preparation stage or pending passage of security planning. In October 2012, the council restarted some stalled projects, none of which were inland. In addition to the Taohuajing project, the other two inland nuclear power projects are located in Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, respectively.

According to the government's schedule, the three inland projects will not resume until the end of the 12th five-year national development plan, said a person close to the National Energy Administration.

A nuclear power expert who formerly worked at an international nuclear energy institution said that compared with coastal facilities, inland nuclear power plants face the thorniest issue of how to dispel polluted water in case of a major incident.

The Taohuajiang nuclear power project, located in Taojiang county of Hunan province's Yiyang city, will occupy 3,000 acres in space and calls for investment of over 60 billion yuan (US$9.7 billion).

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