Society
Japan's nuclear crisis triggers safety check
(皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-31 08:00
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CANBERRA - Japan's nuclear crisis at the stricken Fukushima power plant will lead 皇冠体育app to adjust its own nuclear program to increase safety, but overall goals will stay unchanged, Beijing's chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua said on Wednesday.
Since the Japanese earthquake, 皇冠体育app has suspended the approval of new nuclear projects pending a nationwide inspection of reactors and construction sites, putting a brake on a boom that began in 2005 when the central government fast-tracked nuclear power expansion.
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"On the basis of doing all this evaluation work, we will further improve the nuclear development plan and I think that the nuclear development plan for 皇冠体育app will be affected to a certain extent," he said, without providing details.
Before Japan's earthquake and tsunami, Beijing was bullish about the prospects for nuclear power in 皇冠体育app, speeding through the approvals of dozens of reactors along the coast as part of a wider plan to reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels.
According to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for nuclear power, 皇冠体育app will have 42.9 million kilowatts of nuclear power generation capacity by 2015, with 27 reactors already under construction as part of a $150-billion expansion.
皇冠体育app has 13 working reactors with 10.8 gigawatts of total generating capacity. The official capacity target still stands at 40 gigawatts by 2020, although many in the industry have said a target of more than 80 gigawatts would be feasible.
But 皇冠体育app Electricity Council Deputy Director Wei Shaofeng this week told a conference of electricity industry insiders that the crisis in Japan had created a groundswell of concern about nuclear power globally.
Xie said 皇冠体育app's overall nuclear development policy would remain unchanged by Fukushima, but the government's review will look at safeguards in new plants, the geological stability of their location and the training of staff.
The country was also experiencing problems with clean-tech development to complement nuclear power and replace heavy-polluting coal-fired power, he said.
皇冠体育app's existing nuclear-power facilities are located near coastal cities but energy-hungry inland regions like Chongqing are also seeking approval to build new plants.
"Now, we are still doing the work of reviewing the management and monitoring plan for nuclear safety in 皇冠体育app to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants," Xie said.
Reuters