China Plans More Nuclear Reactors, Uranium Imports

China, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, will exceed its target of adding 40 gigawatts of nuclear-power capacity by 2020, and will boost uranium imports to supplement domestic reserves of the fuel.

The country will increase its nuclear-power capacity to at least 60 gigawatts by the end of the next decade, Wang Yonggan, secretary of the China Electricity Council, said at a conference in Beijing today.
The world’s second-fastest growing major economy is turning to alternative energy sources like nuclear power to cut its reliance on polluting coal, which generates almost 80 percent of China’s electricity. Nuclear energy by 2020 will account for more than 5 percent of all electricity produced, and China’s overall capacity will double to 1,500 gigawatts, Wang said.

“Five percent is still not high,” Simon Lee, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd., said from Hong Kong by telephone. “China, as a country with such high base-load demand, certainly should raise the proportion of nuclear power, which is also more economically viable than coal-fired units.”

China’s proven uranium reserves can cover demand until 2030 and the nation will need to import more uranium to satisfy long- term consumption, Chen Yuehui, deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corp.’s overseas exploration unit, said in a speech to be delivered at the conference tomorrow.

The country would need 7,000 metric tons of uranium a year to operate 40 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, Xu Yuming, executive director of the China Nuclear Energy Association, told the conference today.

Bloomberg