Text: Xiao Peng's brilliant notes
Editor|Xiao Peng's brilliant notes
[Preface]
As a very efficient and clean energy source, nuclear power has been an area actively built by some countries in the past development.
Unlike wind power and solar power generation, which are limited by natural conditions, and unlike oil and natural gas, they have great damage and pollution to the environment.
Therefore, nuclear power has always existed as a reliable energy source, and in the development of energy, it has been greatly valued, but the establishment of nuclear power plants also affects the health of surrounding residents to a certain extent.
There have also been accidents at Japan's nuclear power plants, and the consequences have been huge and irreparable, and the construction of nuclear power plants has even been banned for a time, but now their nuclear power development plans have been restarted.
However, during the period when their nuclear power construction has stalled, China and India have gradually developed into leaders in the field of nuclear power in Asia, especially India's development in recent years, both economically and energy, has shown a very rapid development trend.
As early as the beginning of 2023, India's Minister of Atomic Energy said that by 2047, India will achieve a plan of 9% nuclear power.
Last year, India's annual nuclear power generation reached 56 billion kWh, and the mainland is actually actively building nuclear power.
【India's annual nuclear power generation】
In India's statistics for 2023, the total power generation in 2023 is 1,308.1 billion kWh, of which in the statistics of domestic power generation types, the installed capacity of nuclear power is 7.48 million kilowatts, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 3% of the total power generation.
In order to solve the problem of domestic electricity consumption, in 1956, India successfully established Asia's first "nuclear reactor" with the help of Canada.
Later, with the help of the United States, the first nuclear power plant was successfully put into operation, and the first nuclear power plant on the mainland was established 20 years after the first nuclear power plant was built in India.
But we have a saying that the first fat is not fat, and the second fat overwhelms the kang, just when India made a good start and was ready to make a big show in the field of nuclear power, it suddenly entered the stage of "nuclear ban".
This ban has been in place for 30 years, and India, which was originally in the leading momentum of development, has gradually fallen behind, while the development of the mainland's nuclear power industry has begun to be in full swing.
However, India's domestic power supply problem has not been solved, and the people are still facing a very serious problem of electricity consumption.
In 2018, India released data showing that nuclear power accounted for 3% of total electricity generation at that time, with 22 reactors.
In 2019, India re-entered cooperation with the United States to build six nuclear power plants in India, and the country has since reached a cooperation with Russia on the construction of nuclear power plants.
Not to mention whether the rapid development of the nuclear power field has completely solved India's electricity problem, but at least in recent years, India has indeed made good achievements in this field.
Especially during the pandemic, India's power generation has continued to show an increasing trend, and the most fundamental reason is the increase in nuclear power generation.
In 2023, India's installed nuclear power capacity is second only to the United States and France, and the number of nuclear power units has reached the second highest in the world.
India has 23 nuclear reactors in its seven nuclear power plants, and in September last year, India said it would successfully double the current level by 2031.
Now the United States is actively inviting private companies to invest in the domestic nuclear energy sector, with an investment amount of 2 billion US dollars, although the plan has not yet been fully determined, but it is ultimately hoped to support the development of nuclear power by 2040.
In addition, they plan to use overseas suppliers to build large reactors, including many Russian-designed reactors.
【China's annual nuclear power generation】
As of last year, the mainland's annual power generation capacity was 433.4 billion kWh, ranking second in the world in this field, accounting for 4.86% of the mainland's total power generation.
This figure represents an increase of 3.98% compared to the same period in 2022, and nuclear power generation of this scale is equivalent to a reduction of 123,395,600 tons of standard coal burning, which is equivalent to a reduction of about 340 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Up to now, there are a total of 55 commercial nuclear power units in mainland China, with a total installed capacity of 57.03 million kilowatts, ranking third in the world.
The China Nuclear Energy Industry Association also said that it is expected that by 2035, nuclear energy will account for 10% of electricity generation, and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by about 900 million tons.
Looking back at the development of nuclear power, it is also a history of arduous struggle, 45 years ago, the mainland's per capita power generation was less than 270 kilowatts.
Now, 45 years later, the mainland has not only reached the world's largest installed capacity, but has also built the world's largest clean coal power supply system, as well as the world's largest nuclear power installed power country under construction, and so on.
Now that the mainland's self-designed million-kilowatt nuclear power technology has begun to be built in batches, even reinforced concrete will be imported when the first nuclear power plant is built.
Up to now, the mainland's "Hualong No. 1" has fully realized the independence and controllability of core equipment, which also marks that the mainland has achieved a comprehensive leap from the second generation to the third generation of nuclear power technology.
In addition, the mainland's fourth-generation nuclear power high-temperature gas-cooled reactors have been connected to the grid for power generation, and small reactors representing advanced nuclear power technology have also made significant development and golden cloth.
The comprehensive and efficient use of nuclear energy in power generation has also given a huge boost to the clean and low-carbon plan of mainland energy, and now the mainland is actively transforming to a new power system that is cleaner, low-carbon and greener, and nuclear power generation will also play an important and irreplaceable role.
In the report on the development of nuclear energy in the mainland, it is expected that by 2030, the mainland will achieve the first place in the development of this field, play a more active role in the world nuclear power industry, and occupy a more important position.
In fact, the development of nuclear power technology in mainland China can also be described as "changing with each passing day", and the mainland has completed the independent research and development of CAP1400 nuclear power units.
Compared with the previous traditional nuclear power technology, this technology comprehensively applies the "three generations of nuclear power technology", which is safer and more economical, and China has provided effective inspiration for the development of clean energy in the world while developing its own technology.
【The largest nuclear power plant in China and India】
India's largest nuclear power plant is the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, which was first announced to be open to strong opposition from the local population.
But the Supreme Court of India later said that the move was to alleviate the country's energy shortage, which was for the well-being of the people, so the Supreme Court approved the operation of the nuclear power plant.
Electricity shortages have always been a major factor in India's national economy, with reports in 2013 that India's 19 thermal power stations had less than a week's worth of coal reserves.
Moreover, electricity is also an important source of power in India's automobile, IT, textile and heavy industry industries, etc., such a large power gap greatly affects the development of India's economy, and also causes India's average electricity price to increase viciously.
India's largest nuclear power plant is the 21st nuclear power plant built by Russia, and this achievement is actually due to India's favorable conditions for the development of nuclear power.
Since the founding of the country, successive governments have been very consistent in their attitude towards the development of nuclear power from top to bottom, and the budget of the atomic energy sector is very high.
Moreover, India's thorium reserves are very rich, with about 816,000 tons of thorium reserves, accounting for 22% of the world's total reserves.
Since the establishment of nuclear reactors in India, although there have been no major accidents, the development of small accidents has never stopped, nuclear radiation has occurred in nuclear power treatment plants, and nuclear reactors have also been in fire one after another.
The largest nuclear power plant in mainland China is the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant in Liaoning, which officially began power generation operations in June 2022.
With a designed annual power generation capacity of 48 billion kilowatts, the project is a very large construction scale and is equipped with four million kilowatt nuclear power units.
This nuclear power plant is also the first of its kind on the mainland, and to a certain extent, it will also reflect the mainland's determination to carry out energy conversion.
It is also the first nuclear power plant in the Northeast region, which contains many innovative technologies, such as the equipment of seawater desalination system, which is not only green and environmentally friendly, but also very stable and energy-saving.
Artificial power generation itself is a great damage to the environment on which we live, so the vigorous planning and development of nuclear power plants is also a transitional trend in the new energy era.
Of course, there is no denying that there are certain dangers in this type of power generation, but this negative impact can be minimized to a certain extent, and the mainland has been working to reduce the negative impact of nuclear power generation on the surrounding area.
It is believed that in the future, the mainland's development in this field will be more broad, and the use of nuclear energy resources will be more extensive, which will greatly promote the improvement of the environment and the development of the energy economy.
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The two major bases of the Chinese Navy can defend the three sides against foreign enemies, where will the Fourth Fleet be built in the future?
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Information sources:
Nuclear Energy Special Committee of China Energy Research Society: 2023-04-17, India's nuclear power target will reach 9% in 2047
CCTV: 2024-04-15, the comprehensive application of nuclear energy in mainland China is developing rapidly, and the comprehensive localization rate of independent third-generation nuclear power exceeds 90%
China Energy News: 2023-12-05, China's nuclear power has become a new force in the development of nuclear power in the world
Global Times: 2013-7-15, India's largest nuclear power plant started in the controversy The public was worried about safety factors