China to expand use of nuclear power
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-21 21:19

Work on an extension of the Qinshan nuclear power plant, near Shanghai, is due to begin next month, while construction of a new project at its Ling'ao nuclear plant, in southern China's Guangdong province, is scheduled to start by the end of this year, he said.

The country's newest nuclear power plant, Tianwan station north of Shanghai, started generating electricity in October and is due to begin commercial operations by the end of this year, with an eventual capacity of 60-70 billion kilowatt hours a year.

Meanwhile, the government has made development of new nuclear power technologies, including nuclear fusion, a key strategic priority, said experts speaking at the conference, which focused on European and Chinese energy cooperation.

So far, China has relied on imported technology for its nuclear plants. But the medium to long-term plan for 2015-2025 calls for development of China's own "third generation" nuclear power technology.

By 2020, China hopes to build a prototype fast-breeder reactor — a technology that produces plutonium that can be then used as fuel, reducing radioactive waste and alleviating dependence on imports of uranium.

Ultimately, though, China is placing its hopes in nuclear fusion, said Shen Rugang, vice president of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co.

"Fusion will be the final way out for the future," Shen said.

Nuclear fusion, which replicates the sun's power source by colliding atoms at extremely high temperatures and pressure inside a reactor, is expected to one day generate endless, cheap energy without greenhouse gas emissions and with only low levels of radioactive waste.

China which is participating in joint fusion research with the U.S., European Union, Russia, South Korea, Japan and India, hopes to be one of the first users of fusion energy, said Li Jianjiang, an expert from the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Science.

"My dream is to witness within my lifetime a light bulb powered by fusion electricity," Li said.