Accelerated project review The proportion of nuclear power in new energy continues to increase

Since the beginning of this year, the state's approval of new nuclear power projects has accelerated
significantly.
So far, China has approved five nuclear power projects and 10 nuclear power units this year
.
Specifically, on April 20, the National Standing Committee approved three projects: Zhejiang Sanmen Phase II, Shandong Haiyang Phase II and Guangdong Lufeng; Then, on September 13, the executive meeting of the State Council approved two nuclear power projects: Zhangzhou II in Fujian Province and Lianjiang Phase I in Guangdong
.

According to the Blue Book of the "China Nuclear Energy Development Report (2022)" recently released by the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association, it is expected that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China will maintain the approved start rhythm of 6 to 8 nuclear power units per year, the installed scale of nuclear power will be further expanded, and the power generation will increase
significantly.
Based on the forecasts of various institutions, it is expected that by 2035, nuclear power generation will account for about 10% of China's power structure; By 2060, nuclear power generation will account for about
20% of China's power structure.

Intensive construction at the end of the year

In November, important construction nodes of domestic nuclear power projects continued
.

On November 1, the Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Energy Heating Demonstration Project was officially put into operation, which is the first nuclear heating project in Northeast China, covering Wafangdian Hongyanhe Town in Dalian City, benefiting nearly 20,000 local residents
.

The Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Energy Heating Demonstration Project is located in Hongyanhe Town, Wafangdian City, Dalian City, with a planned heating area of 242,400 square meters and a maximum heating load of 12.
77MW.

The project has built a new primary pipe network of nearly 10 kilometers, a secondary pipe network of 5.
7 kilometers, and 4 new heat exchange stations
.

It is estimated that after the project is put into operation, it will reduce the consumption of standard coal by 5,726 tons per year, reduce carbon dioxide by 14,100 tons, soot by more than 209 tons, sulfur dioxide by more than 60 tons, nitrogen oxides by more than 85 tons, and ash residue by 2,621 tons, which will effectively improve the atmospheric environment of the heating area and have significant
environmental benefits.

Immediately afterwards, at 14:07 on November 3, under the supervision and guidance of the East China Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision Station of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Unit 1 of Zhejiang Sanao Nuclear Power Project of China General Nuclear Power Group successfully completed the dome hoisting, marking the full transfer of the unit from the civil construction stage to the equipment installation stage
.

According to a relevant person of China General Nuclear Power Group, the dome is located at the top of the nuclear island and is a key component of the third safety barrier of the nuclear power plant, which is of great significance for ensuring the integrity and sealing of the reactor building and realizing the inherent safety characteristics, and the dome hoisting has therefore become an important milestone node in the construction of nuclear power projects
.

The dome of Unit 1 of Sanao Nuclear Power Project weighs 238.
5 tons, has a diameter of 45 meters, and the area is equivalent to 4 standard basketball courts, while the thickness of the docking steel plate wall is only about 6mm
。 "This is like using a crane to pierce an embroidery needle, we set up a ring limit device, a radial limit device, a guide column, etc.
in the cylinder, and firmly 'lock' the dome from the four directions of top, bottom, left and right, and finally realize the dome lifting accurately in place
.
" Zhong Hongjin, senior engineer in charge of nuclear island civil engineering of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co.
, Ltd.
, introduced
.

Policy support continues

Under the "dual carbon" goal, the nuclear power industry has a broad
market space.
Nuclear power is a low-carbon, efficient and clean energy, and under the goals of "carbon neutrality" and "carbon peaking", the development of nuclear power has ushered in a new period of policy opportunities
.

Since the beginning of this year, the state's approval of new nuclear power projects has accelerated
significantly.
So far, China has approved five nuclear power projects and 10 nuclear power units this year, a record high
in recent years.

Among them, on April 20, the State Council approved three projects
: Zhejiang Sanmen Phase II, Shandong Haiyang Phase II and Guangdong Lufeng Phase II.
Specifically, the three projects are units 3 and 4 of the second phase of Sanmen Nuclear Power; Haiyang Nuclear Power Phase II Units 3 and 4; Lufeng Nuclear Power Units 5 and 6
.
Then, on September 13, the executive meeting of the State Council approved two nuclear power projects: Zhangzhou II in Fujian Province and Lianjiang Phase I in Guangdong
.

From a technical point of view, 6 units of the newly approved units adopt CAP1000, and 4 units adopt "Hualong No.
1"; From the perspective of project ownership, CNNC and CGN were approved 4 units respectively this year, and was approved 2 units
.

The construction of nuclear power units approved this year is accelerating
.
According to the third quarterly report of China General Nuclear Power Corporation, Lufeng Unit 5 has carried out the first concrete pouring (FCD) of the nuclear island on September 8 this year, that is, Lufeng Unit 5 officially started construction on that day and entered the civil construction stage
.
After the start of construction of Lufeng Unit 5, the number of nuclear power units under construction under management of the company is 7, with a total installed capacity of 8380MW.

At the same time, China Nuclear Power said in a survey by institutional investors a few days ago that Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Units 3 and 4 were approved
by the State Council this year.
The company is progressing the preparatory work before the start of construction in an orderly manner according to the plan
.
As is customary, nuclear power projects will officially start within
one year of approval.
According to China's 14th Five-Year Plan for Nuclear Power, the company will achieve an installed nuclear power capacity of 26.
174 million kilowatts
by 2025.

There is great potential for development

As a baseload energy source, the gradual liberalization of nuclear power approval reflects the country's determination to do a good job in power supply, and the accelerated construction of new units will also bring new investment opportunities
to the nuclear power industry.

According to data from the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association, from January to September this year, the cumulative power generation of nuclear power units operating in the country was 304.
676 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 0.
65%; The cumulative on-grid electricity was 285.
536 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 0.
54%.

As of the end of October 2022, there are 53 commercial nuclear power units in China, with a total installed capacity of 55.
5947 million kilowatts, ranking third in the world in terms of the number of units and installed capacity; a total of 23 nuclear power units approved and under construction, with a total installed capacity of about 25.
39 million kilowatts, ranks first
in the world.

At the "Nuclear Power Operation High-level Conference and Nuclear Power Operation Safety Conference" held in Beijing a few days ago, Zhang Tingke, secretary-general of the China Nuclear Energy Industry Association, said that the application scenarios of nuclear power are very broad
.
Through comprehensive utilization, nuclear energy will also play an important role in heating, cooling, industrial steam, hydrogen production, seawater desalination and other fields, providing more diversified solutions
for the low-carbon transformation of the economy and society under the goal of carbon neutrality.

In fact, China's energy endowment shows the characteristics of "rich coal, poor oil and low gas", and experts believe that the development of nuclear power is an indispensable part
of China's energy security strategy.
Therefore, since the resumption of nuclear power project approval in 2019, the approval of new nuclear power units in China has accelerated, and relevant support policies have been continuously introduced
.

Galaxy Securities Research Report said that nuclear power is a clean energy and plays a prominent role in the environment of increasing proportion of new energy and tightening carbon emissions
.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" modern energy system plan proposes that by 2025, the installed capacity of nuclear power operation will reach about 70 million kilowatts, which means that China's installed capacity of nuclear power operation still has nearly 30% room
for growth.

Industry insiders said that at present, the state strongly supports the development of nuclear power, and the projects approved from 2019 will be put into operation from 2024, and the performance of listed nuclear power enterprises such as China Nuclear Power and China General Nuclear Power has multiple growth drivers and currently has high investment value
.