China Nuclear Power Situation and Development

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China Nuclear Power Situation and Development

• WU Zongxin
• INET,Tsinghua University

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The Police of Nuclear Energy

• Since 2004, China government has changed the
  police of nuclear development from moderate to
  active

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Nuclear Power in China

• 9 NPP in operation and I NPP in commissioning,
  total 7.6 GW installed capacity
• 52.3 billion kWh - 2.1 of total power generation
• Accept 2 units of CANDU PHWR type, others PWR
  type

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Existing Nuclear Power Plants in China
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Nuclear Power Plants Under Construction in China
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Planning of Nuclear Power Development

• The government plans to increase nuclear
  generating capacity to 40 GWe by 2020 with a
  further 18 GWe nuclear being under construction
  then
• Requiring an average of 2 GWe per year being
  added.

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Nuclear Power Plants in Plan in China
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Open bidding for third-generation designs

• In September 2004 the State Council approved the
  two units at Sanmen, followed by six units at
  Yangjiang (two to start with), these to be 1000
  or 1500 MWe reactors
• The Sanmen and Yanjiang plants were subject to an
  open bidding process for third-generation
  designs, with contracts being awarded in mid 2006
• Westinghouse bid its AP 1000 (which now has US
  NRC final design approval), Areva NP (Framatome
  ANP) bid its EPR of 1600 MWe

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NPP Technologies

• PWRs will be the mainstream but not sole reactor
  type
• Nuclear fuel assemblies are fabricated and
  supplied indigenously
• Domestic manufacturing of plant and equipment
  will be maximized, with self-reliance in design
  and project management
• International cooperation is nevertheless
  encouraged

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New Nuclear Power Reactor Technology Development

• In February 2006 the State Council announced that
  the large advanced PWR and the small high
  temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) are two high
  priority projects for the next 15 years
• In order to master international advanced
  technology on nuclear power and develop a Chinese
  third-generation large PWR
• CNNC has confirmed this, while pointing
  longer-term to fast neutron reactors

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National laws

• The Atomic Energy Act is a supreme legal document
  in nuclear field to adjust and promote the atomic
  energy development in China
• The Atomic Energy Act being worked out
• The Environment Protection Act of the Peoples
  Republic of China was approved by the National
  Peoples Congress (NPC)
• The Radioactive Pollution Prevention Act is a
  basic law for the radioactive waste management

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Nuclear Safety and Wastes Management

• To meet the needs of nuclear energy development,
  independent regulatory authorities and
  implementation bodies came into being in Chinas
  radioactive waste management system in virtue of
  years of practices.
• The State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA),
  independent of the nuclear industry, carries out
  supervision and management on nuclear safety and
  radiation environment of civilian nuclear
  facilitieslicensing management and routine
  monitoring

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Rules and regulations by governmental departments

• Detailed Implementation Rules have been
  promulgated in succession
• National Regulations on Supervision and
  Management of Safety of Civilian Nuclear
  Facilities
• Provisions on Safety of Civilian Nuclear Fuel
  Cycle Facilities
• Provisions on Safety of NPP Radioactive Waste
  Management
• Environmental Policy on Intermediate and
  Low-level Radioactive Wastes Disposal
• Provisions on Radioactive Waste Management

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Nuclear Fuel Cycle

• China has primarily established a nuclear fuel
  cycle system covering uranium exploration, mining
  and milling, conversion, isotope separation,
  nuclear fuel element manufacture and spent fuel
  reprocessing.

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Establishment of nuclear fuel cycle system
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Uranium Resources

• At present the uranium resources supply available
  domestically
• With the prospective need to import much more
  uranium
• CNNC is also keen to participate in exploration
  and mining abroad, and in 2006 bought into a
  small Australian uranium prospect

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Cardinal principles of waste management

• Aiming at safety and taking disposal as core
• Ensuring exposure received by workers and the
  public within the dose limits set by the state,
  and keeping at the ALARA level when taking into
  account the economic and social factors
• Protecting later generations, i.e. no extra
  burdens and responsibilities to be added to later
  generations, and the protection level of
  individuals of later generations will not lower
  than the current level

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Cardinal principles of waste management

• Relevant radioactive waste treatment facilities
  should be designed, constructed and operated
  simultaneously with facilities or practices
  producing radioactive wastes
• Taking into full consideration the
  inter-relations between various phases of waste
  management
• reduction in output
• categorized collection
• purification and concentration, volume reduction
  and solidification
• careful encapsulation, safe transportation
• in-situ interim storage
• concentrated disposal, controlled discharge

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Cardinal principles of waste management

• The environmental impact assessment should be
  conducted prior to any waste management facility
  or practice.
• The discharge amount should be applied for to
  environment protection agencies.
• The amount and concentration of radioactive
  materials discharged to environment must lower
  than the discharge limits set by regulatory
  authorities.

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Treatment of L/ILW

• L/ILW arising from NPPs will be cement-solidified
  in 200 L steel barrel or large concrete container
• Development of a series of cement formulas,
  methods to examine the solidification
  performance, and some cementation apparatuses

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Near-surface Disposal of I/LLSW

• Near-surface disposal of I/LLSW including cement
  formula piles and hydraulic fracture disposal
• Following the policy of regional disposal of
  I/LLSW, China has set up several state regional
  I/LLSW disposal sites where nuclear installations
  are comparatively concentrated

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Near-surface Disposal of I/LLSW

• The northwest I/LLSW repository put into
  operation with planed capacity of the first phase
  is 5,200,000 m3
• The design disposal capacity of Guangdong Beilong
  repository, closing to the Daya Bay and Ling Ao
  NPPs in Shenzhen, is 80,000 m3
• Repository in Zhejiang in planning

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Treatment and Disposal of HLW

• Spent fuel storage
• Reprocessing
• Vitrification of HLLW
• Deep geological disposal of HLW

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Spent reprocessing

• Initiate target recovery of uranium and
  plutonium for resource conservation
• Long target
• Reprocessing partitioning ? transmutation
  remove trans-uranium and separate strontium and
  cesium
• Improvement of resource utilization
• Minimizing the radioactive toxic
• Reducing the waste repository volume
• Scientific research and test verification carried
  out for a 50 tU spent fuel project
• A commercial facility put into operation after
  2020

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Deep geological disposal of HLW

• Plan for deep geological disposal of HLW consists
  of four stages technical preparedness
  geological research on-site test and
  construction
• Great progress on sitting for repository and
  underground laboratory, and the feasibility study
• Northwest region of China primarily determined
  as one of the most likely candidate sites
• Two wells as deep as 700 m and 500 m
  respectively drilled for carrying out
  multi-disciplinary research

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Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

• Drafting National standard Safety Requirements
  for Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities
• Carrying out relevant development work
• Assessment of radioactivity inventory
• Decontamination
• Cutting technology
• Remote operation
• Smelting
• Radioactive waste management
• Health protection and safety

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