Dr. Conca reports that if anyone thinks nuclear power is on the wane globally, they have notbeen paying attention to China. More than 100 nuclear power reactors will start up in China over the next decade. The strategy is outlined in the draft of their new Five-Year Plan that covers 2016 to 2020. It is their 13th such plan, and the country has kept pretty close to most of their previous goals.
According to the document, the government will invest over US$100 billion to construct about seven new reactors annually between now and 2030. By 2050, nuclear power should exceed 350 GW in that country, include about 400 new nuclear reactors, and have resulted in over a trillion dollars in nuclear investment.
The rush to expand comes from their tremendous air pollution problem coming from their existing coal-fired plants, not surprising if you have been to Beijing in the last five years. Coupled with the need to double their energy production to move the rest of their population into the middle class, it is no wonder nuclear, and many other forms of generation, are being ramped up enormously.
China has 27 nuclear power reactors in operation, 24 under construction, and more about to break ground. The plan is to install about 150 GW by 2030. China National Nuclear Corporation recently signed an agreement with Bill Gates and his new nuclear power company, TerraPower, will bring the most advanced nuclear reactor in the world to market before 2030. In fact, China wants its nuclear fleet in general to be the most advanced technologically.
Of course, not only does China want to replace its old coal fleet with new nuclear reactors, it wants to become the leading exporter of nuclear technology as well, including heavy components in the supply chain where the real global bottleneck is. Several countries have decided to develop, or re-vitalize, heavy forging, and today very heavy forges operate in China, Japan, France, Russia, and elsewhere, but not in the U.S.
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