introduction
China is the world's largest consumer of electricity.
Every night, hundreds of millions of homes have to turn on their lights. Including factory production and enterprise operation, these are also inseparable from electricity.
As a result, the amount of electricity used each year is an astronomical amount. Without a complete power supply to rely on, it is unimaginable how difficult life would be for the people.
Fortunately, in today's China, electricity is so abundant that there is almost no need to worry about power outages.
In order to maintain the normal operation of the economy, China has done its best to adapt measures to local conditions, and has tried various power generation methods, forming five main sources of electricity: thermal power, nuclear power, hydropower, wind power, and solar power.
In 2023, China's annual power generation capacity will reach 94,564.4 trillion kWh, which is equivalent to the total number of developed countries in the world. It can not only meet the production and living needs of its own people, but also export to other countries to earn foreign exchange.
However, such a life is not easy to come by, and it has been achieved through the unremitting efforts of several generations.
Moreover, from the perspective of power generation structure, China is still in a stage of high dependence on coal burning. Among the five major sources of electricity, thermal power accounts for 55%.
Among the remaining four clean energy power generation projects, there is one that is not the world's largest in terms of installed capacity and power generation, and that is nuclear power.
So, how did China become a power power step by step? How far is China's nuclear power from being the world's first?
1. China's nuclear power: surpassing the United States, just this year!
Globally, the only country in the world with the highest installed nuclear power capacity is the United States.
Despite the fact that the United States has a population of more than 300 million, their per capita electricity consumption is quite staggering, and the pollution is very small. This is largely due to the country's well-developed and efficient nuclear power industry.
Data shows that at the end of last year, the United States had built and operated a total of 93 nuclear power units, with an installed capacity of 95.835 million kilowatts, ahead of China.
However, this situation will be reversed this year.
At the beginning of 2024, at the Boao Economic Forum, a high-level person from a Chinese nuclear power group announced that by the end of this year, China's total installed nuclear power capacity is expected to surpass that of the United States, ranking first and becoming the largest nuclear power country.
He said this on the basis that China's installed nuclear power capacity is already quite large, exceeding 100 million kilowatts.
More importantly, by the end of last year, China had 26 nuclear power units under construction, with an installed capacity of 30.3 million kilowatts. When they are built, China will be the first in the world.
This achievement was not achieved overnight, but was the inevitable result of China's nuclear power industry that has been catching up, innovating and surpassing for decades.
In fact, the reason why China attaches so much importance to nuclear power is not because it is clean, environmentally friendly, and produces almost no pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, but because of the practical problems faced by traditional power generation models.
Coal-fired power plants generate electricity, which is mainly concentrated in North China and Northwest China. An uneven distribution of coal means an uneven supply of electricity.
In the southeast coastal areas, a lack of coal means less electricity, and a lack of electricity means that the economy cannot be sustained.
You must know that these places are all important pilots of reform and opening up. If the power problem is not solved, then the overall strategic layout will be disrupted. After repeated trade-offs, nuclear power has become the best choice.
This type of power generation is characterized by low consumption and high efficiency, which can use the least resources to create the maximum amount of electricity, which is very suitable for areas where coal resources are scarce.
For example, the places with the most nuclear power units under construction and in operation today are the southeastern coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang, which are far from the coal-producing areas.
Among them, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang, with an annual power generation capacity of more than 50 billion, can supply one-third of Shanghai's electricity consumption with one station.
Looking back at the starting point of China's nuclear power, it is almost a blank, and it has started the journey of independent design and construction with a momentum that does not admit defeat.
In the 70s of the last century, after some investigation in Shanghai, China's high-level leaders came to the conclusion that East China is short of coal and oil, and if it wants to keep up with electricity, it must engage in nuclear power.
Second, the tortuous development of China's nuclear power industry, from a non-nuclear power country to a technology exporting country
The idea is very good, but without the technical backing, everything is empty talk.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China proposed a "581 Project", one of which included a plan to import a full set of nuclear power technology from the Soviet Union. After all, China was the first country to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and the world's first nuclear power plant was built in the Soviet Union.
However, what happened later must be clear to everyone. China and the Soviet Union were at loggerheads, the Soviet side withdrew a large number of technical experts, and at the same time, boxes of drawings for nuclear power plants were taken away.
With the departure of the Soviets, China's nuclear power industry suffered a serious setback before it could get off the ground, and it was delayed until the eve of reform and opening up that it was put back on the agenda.
In 1974, leaders officially approved plans for the construction of a 300,000-kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. After the survey and research of experts, the site was finally determined to be Qinshan, Haiyan County, Zhejiang.
The reason is that the geological structure here is stable, with an annual precipitation of 1,000 mm, and there are rivers passing through it, which solves the problem of fresh water. The proximity to Hangzhou Bay solves the problem of seawater for cooling.
In addition, the three sides of the Qinshan mountain face the sea, forming a natural barrier against typhoons, which is very suitable for the construction of nuclear power plants.
At that time, there were no large enterprises within a radius of 10 kilometers in Qinshan, and there were only more than 100 permanent residents within 5 kilometers of the power plant area.
In terms of location, it is very close to Shanghai and Hangzhou, and the generated electricity can be directly connected to the East China power grid to supply the power needs of large cities in East China.
In 1985, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant was started, and six years later, in 1991, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant was successfully connected to the grid for power generation. The completion of the nuclear power plant marks the official end of China's history without nuclear power, opens a new chapter in the development of nuclear power, and also sets off a nuclear power boom across the country.
The Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant was built in the same era as the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province in 1987.
In 1994, Daya Bay No. 1 and Daya Bay No. 2 pressurized water reactor units were put into commercial operation. The construction of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant has not only increased China's nuclear power capacity, but also promoted the introduction and digestion of nuclear power technology.
Unlike the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant uses advanced foreign technology. After the reform and opening up, the relationship between the East and the West eased. In 1982, with the approval of the State Council, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant was decided to adopt French nuclear power technology for construction.
The construction of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant is mainly to solve the problem of electricity consumption in Guangdong.
Previously, the precursor of reform and opening up has sounded in Guangdong, and a large number of foreign-funded enterprises have poured into the Pearl River Delta to invest and build factories.
However, although the preferential policies of the central government have been approved, the power infrastructure has not kept up. Due to the lack of energy and the shortage of electricity, the factory often starts four times and stops three, and there is nothing to be done.
In this regard, the leader pointed out that "Shenzhen should do two things well, one is to build the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and the other is to run Shenzhen University." "The leaders attach great importance to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and during the construction period, they listened to reports and gave instructions no less than 11 times.
The construction of these nuclear power plants has not only improved China's power supply capacity, but also promoted the development and maturity of China's nuclear power technology.
At the same time, nuclear power, as a clean and efficient form of energy, is of great significance for alleviating China's energy pressure, optimizing the energy structure, and promoting sustainable development.
Since the beginning of the new century, China's economy has taken off, and the demand for energy and electricity has been increasing year by year.
In this context, the nuclear power industry has ushered in a new development opportunity.
In 2006, the Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for Nuclear Power (2005-2020) was promulgated, which clarified the strategic position of nuclear power in the sustainable development of China's economy and energy, and vigorously promoted the construction of nuclear power.
During this period, China's nuclear power entered a stage of active development, with rapid growth in installed capacity and power generation.
However, the development of nuclear power has not been smooth sailing.
The Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011 had a huge impact on the global nuclear power industry, and China's nuclear power industry is also facing unprecedented challenges.
Against this backdrop, the Chinese government has carried out investigation of potential safety hazards for all nuclear power projects in operation and under construction, strengthened top-level design, formulated strict safety standards, and improved a comprehensive nuclear emergency response system.
This series of measures not only ensures the safe and stable development of China's nuclear power industry, but also lays a solid foundation for China's nuclear power industry to go global.
In recent years, China's nuclear power industry has ushered in a golden period of development.
On the one hand, China has stepped up R&D and innovation in nuclear power technology, forming domestic brands such as Hualong No. 1 and Guohe No. 1, and advanced nuclear power technologies such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, fast reactors and small modular reactors with the characteristics of four generations, and has also made major breakthroughs.
On the other hand, China's nuclear power industry has actively expanded the international market and carried out nuclear power cooperation with many countries and regions, which has promoted the internationalization of China's nuclear power technology.
Today, China's nuclear power industry is hitting the top of the world. Key indicators such as the number of commercial nuclear power units, total installed capacity, and power generation are among the top in the world.
This achievement is inseparable from the persistence and efforts of China's nuclear power industry for decades, and even more inseparable from the hard work and selfless dedication of all nuclear power workers.
epilogue
Looking ahead, China's nuclear power industry will continue to maintain a trend of rapid development.
Nuclear power is expected to account for 18% of China's electricity mix by 2060.
This will not only provide strong support for the sustainable development of China's economy, but also make an important contribution to the global response to climate change and the realization of green and low-carbon development.
In short, the counterattack of China's nuclear power industry is a road full of hardships and struggles.
But it is this road that has witnessed the glorious journey of China's nuclear power industry from catching up to surpassing.
We have reason to believe that in the coming days, China's nuclear power industry will continue to write a new brilliant chapter and contribute more wisdom and strength to the global nuclear power industry!
Resources:
[1] How does ecological nuclear power develop into ecological nuclear energy[N]. Zhang Jianwen, Shanxi Economic Daily, 2019
[2] To achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality, nuclear energy will usher in a broader development space[N]. Science and Technology Daily, 2021