Nuclear power offers potential to boost green electricity development

A proposition put forward by a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference suggests that nuclear power should be included in China's green electricity system for low-carbon development.

Yang Changli, also chairman of China General Nuclear Power Group, China's largest nuclear power operator by installed capacity, made the proposal when attending the CPPCC National Committee annual session opening on Monday.

He emphasized the role of nuclear power as a high-quality, green and low-carbon electricity source with one of the lowest carbon emissions.

Yang also noted that several countries in Europe and the United States have included nuclear power in the category of green electricity at the policy or implementation level.

According to Yang, China established a green electricity certificate system in 2017 in a bid to promote the transformation and development of green and low-carbon energy.

The system issued green certificates to eligible wind and solar power facilities, allowing them to obtain green premiums through trading in the early stage. Now it has developed a more sophisticated model by incorporating market mechanisms such as green certificate trading and green electricity trading.

The green certificate, the only certificating and trading platform for the production and consumption of renewable energy, has been expanded to cover all renewable energy sources, including solar power, wind power and hydropower.

Yang emphasized that nuclear power, as a stable and reliable high-quality green and low-carbon electricity source, has not yet been included in China's green certificate and green electricity system, making it the only non-fossil energy source excluded from the system.

He said: "This is not conducive to achieving the country's dual-carbon goals, nor is it conducive to the long-term development of the nuclear power industry."

Data from the International Atomic Energy Agency indicate the carbon emissions for producing 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity are 5.7 grams for nuclear power, 74.6 grams for photovoltaic power, 64.4 for hydropower and 13.3 for wind power.

Yang mentioned that the total installed capacity of nuclear power units in operation and under construction on the Chinese mainland exceeds 100 million kilowatts. In 2023, the electricity generated from nuclear power accounted for nearly 5 percent of the national total, resulting in a reduction of 350 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

He pointed out that the inclusion of nuclear power in the green electricity trading system would not only benefit the environment but also develop a new form of productivity to support the nation's high-quality development.

The domestic and international carbon reduction situation has led to a continuous increase in demand for green electricity from various entities. If nuclear power were included, it could provide over 160 billion kWh of marketable electricity annually, greatly alleviating the constraints placed on the supply of green electricity to society.

Yang also noted that the inclusion of nuclear power could increase the enthusiasm of users to purchase nuclear power, enhance the competitiveness of nuclear power in the electricity market, and thereby promote the effective realization of the low-carbon value of nuclear power.

He further mentioned that some countries in Europe and the US have provided beneficial references for the inclusion of nuclear power into China's green electricity system.

For example, 11 countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland, have issued the EU Guarantees of Origin, or GO certificates, for nuclear power. States such as Illinois and New York in the US have set specific zero-emission credits for nuclear power in their clean energy quotas.

"It is suggested to promptly include nuclear power in the green electricity certificate system, provide an authoritative certificating platform for the green and low-carbon attributes of nuclear power, meet the purchasing demands of the market users, and promote the development of new productive forces in nuclear energy, setting an example in guiding the global development of nuclear power based on policy orientation," Yang concluded.