Huge Increases Due in Chinese Nuclear Power & Wind Power

Chinese construction workers build Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Plant, the expansion project of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant Phase One in Haiyan county, Jiaxing city, east Chinas Zhejiang province. Photo by Imaginechina: AP

Beijing, July 2 (ANI): China is planning for an installed nuclear power capacity of 86 gigawatts (gW) by 2020, up nearly 10-fold from the 9 gW capacity it had by the end of last year, said two people familiar with the matter. The revised target for nuclear power is part of the government’s efforts to increase the share of alternative energy in the predominantly coal-based energy mix.

The goal, which is part of an alternative energy development roadmap covering 2009-20, seeks to have at least 12 gW of installed nuclear power capacity by 2011, the sources said. The plan “will call for the government to accelerate nuclear power development in coastal provinces and autonomous regions, namely Liaoning, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hainan,” the sources said.

In order to achieve the goal, the government will also set up a “reasonable number of nuclear power plants in inland provinces in Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan and Hubei”, they said.
The target, which the people said had still not been finalized, was substantially bigger than earlier goals.

China, the world’s second-largest power market, now has 11 working nuclear reactors, producing 9.1 gW as of the end of last year. China is now adding more than 24 reactors, which includes five plants scheduled to start construction this year.

Wind Power

According to the draft alternative energy development stimulus plan, the government is also planning to have 150 gW of installed wind power capacity by 2020, of which 30 gW will come from offshore wind farms, the people said. Installed wind power capacity should reach 35 gW by the end of 2011, of which 5 gW will come from offshore wind farms, the China Daily says of the draft plan. China, which is now the fourth largest wind power producer in the world, had 12.17 gW in installed capacity as of the end of last year. It plans to build seven huge wind farms with a minimum capacity of 10 gW each by 2020, Shi Pengfei, vice-president of Chinese Wind Energy Association, said earlier this week.

Source: Thaindian News