Nuclear power to get a big boost

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Nuclear power to get a big boost
By Wan Zhihong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-20 07:54


China is aiming to have a nuclear power capacity of 60 gigawatts (GW) by 2020, a 50 percent jump from an earlier target outlined in its energy blueprint, industry sources said.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, is pondering revising the target in the medium- and long-term plan (2005-20) in the first quarter of 2009 and submitting the revised plan to the State Council, sources close to the project said.

According to the earlier plan for the industry, China would increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 GW by 2020, accounting for 4 percent of the nation's total power capacity.

China currently has only 9 GW of nuclear power capacity, or about 1.3 percent of its total.

NDRC Vice-Minister Zhang Guobao said in March that the 40-GW-plan should be readjusted.

"We should increase the nuclear power capacity to 5 percent of the total power capacity in 2020," he said.

Zhang, who is also director of the National Energy Administration, said the agency would help further boost the development of nuclear power in the country.

During the reorganization of ministries at this year's National People's Congress, the management of the nuclear sector was transferred from the former Commission of Science and Technology and Industry for National Defense to the National Energy Administration.

China this week started the construction of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in Guangdong province with an investment of 70 billion yuan.

The plant will have six 1,000-megawatt (MW) units with the first unit to begin operation in 2013.

Last month, the construction of a 100-billion-yuan nuclear power plant was kicked off in Fujian province.

The plant is designed to have six reactors each with a capacity of 1,000 MW and the first two reactors will become operational in 2013 and 2014.

The NDRC said in November that in order to boost domestic demand, construction of a series of large energy projects was due to start this year.

They include three nuclear power plants with a total of 101,000-MW reactors, including the plants in Fujian and Guangdong and another one in Zhejiang.

China's nuclear sector will continue to see accelerated development in the future, and is not affected by the ongoing financial crisis, Yu Jianfeng, vice-general manager of China National Nuclear Corp, said in November.

"With the development of such rapid pace, nuclear power capacity will exceed 60 GW with no doubt," said Fu Manchang, president of State Nuclear Power Automation System Co.

Industry insiders said China also plans to increase the capacity of wind power in the previous medium- and long-term plan, as the sector experienced 100 percent growth in the past three years.

According to the earlier plan, wind power capacity would reach 30 GW by 2020.

The government has aimed to cut energy use per unit of GDP by 20 percent in the five years through 2010 while reducing emissions of pollutants, but so far it has failed to meet the set targets.

(China Daily 12/20/2008 page10)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-12...ent_7325156.htm

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China to spend $731B on railways by 2020
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-21 14:15
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BEIJING - China will spend 5 trillion yuan ($730.6 billion) until 2020 to add 41,000 km (25,480 miles) to its already big rail network, state media said, as the government tries to boost domestic demand and ease strains on a jammed system.

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The latest edition of Outlook Weekly, published by Xinhua news agency, cited Deputy Railway Minister Lu Dongfu as saying the new railways would help promote economic growth, ease transport bottlenecks and provide at least six million jobs.

It did not say how much of the investment was new, and how much had already been approved by the central government, although some of the projects have already begun, such as a high-speed link from Beijing to the commercial capital Shanghai.

"Over the next two years these projects will satisfy urgent transport needs, ease bottlenecks on the railways, promote regional economic development and economic growth," Outlook Weekly paraphrased Lu as saying.

New railways would be built linking major cities, and others would be dedicated to transporting coal in inland provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, the report said.

Last month China announced a sweeping 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus package of spending over the next two years, with a large portion of the funds targeting infrastructure projects such as roads and railways.

Beijing wants to boost domestic demand to help offset a slowdown in key export markets in Europe and North America, hoping to generate enough jobs to keep a lid on labour unrest and social instability.

While China has an extensive and increasingly efficient rail network, it is still beset by problems, and many parts of the country have poor or non-existent connections.

Every year during the Lunar New Year, millions of Chinese pack the railways to go home, many standing for hours as seats are so hard to get hold of. Even at normal times it can be hard to obtain a ticket.

The railways are also important haulers of freight and energy supplies such as coal around the country, but sheer volume of traffic can lead to delays and slow delivery.

The government has been spending billions of dollars on transport over the past few decades, and hopes to improve access especially to China's vast and underdeveloped inland regions.

"Once the railways are open, conditions will improve and more trains will be able to run, leading to lower transport costs, shorter travel times for passengers and freight and other direct economic benefits," the report quoted railway planning chief Yang Zhongmin as saying.

"It will also ease communication restrictions, improve the investment environment and have an enormous effect on industrial development," Yang added.


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