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The Prospective of Nuclear Power in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Xu

    (School of Management Science and Engineering, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China)

  • Junjie Kang

    (Central Research Institute, State Power Investment Corporation, Beijing 102209, China)

  • Jiahai Yuan

    (School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China)

Abstract

From scratch to current stage, China’s nuclear power technology has experienced rapid development, and now China has begun to export nuclear power technology. As a kind of highly efficient and clean energy source, nuclear energy is also a priority option to solve energy crisis, replace traditional fossil fuels and reduce air pollution. By analyzing the short-term and long-term development trend of nuclear power in China, the paper has reached the following conclusions: (1) Under the current situation of excess supply, due to high investment cost of first-kind reactors, the decline of utilization hours and the additional cost of ancillary service obligations, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the third generation nuclear power will significantly increase, and the internal rate of return (IRR) will significantly fall. In the short term, market competitiveness of nuclear power will be a major problem, which affects investment enthusiasm. (2) With technology learning of third generation technology, the LCOE of nuclear power will be competitive with that of coal power in 2030. (3) The CO 2 emissions reduction potential of nuclear power is greater than coal power with CCS and the avoided CO 2 costs of nuclear power is much lower. Therefore, nuclear power is an important option for China’s long-term low-carbon energy system transition. The paper proposes to subsidize the technical learning costs of new technology through clean technology fund at the early commercialization stage. When designing power market rules, the technical characteristics of nuclear power should be fully considered to ensure efficient operation of nuclear power.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Xu & Junjie Kang & Jiahai Yuan, 2018. "The Prospective of Nuclear Power in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:6:p:2086-:d:153326
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Shang, Delei & Geissler, Bernhard & Mew, Michael & Satalkina, Liliya & Zenk, Lukas & Tulsidas, Harikrishnan & Barker, Lee & El-Yahyaoui, Adil & Hussein, Ahmed & Taha, Mohamed & Zheng, Yanhua & Wang, M, 2021. "Unconventional uranium in China's phosphate rock: Review and outlook," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Fan, Jing-Li & Li, Zezheng & Li, Kai & Zhang, Xian, 2022. "Modelling plant-level abatement costs and effects of incentive policies for coal-fired power generation retrofitted with CCUS," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    4. Pablo Fernández-Arias & Diego Vergara & Álvaro Antón-Sancho, 2023. "Global Review of International Nuclear Waste Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Azam, Anam & Rafiq, Muhammad & Shafique, Muhammad & Zhang, Haonan & Yuan, Jiahai, 2021. "Analyzing the effect of natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable energy on GDP and carbon emissions: A multi-variate panel data analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    6. Shengyong Zhang & Yunhao Chen & Yudong Li & Xing Yi & Jiansheng Wu, 2022. "Study on Air Quality and Its Annual Fluctuation in China Based on Cluster Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Zhang, Haonan & Zhang, Xingping & Yuan, Jiahai, 2020. "Transition of China's power sector consistent with Paris Agreement into 2050: Pathways and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    8. Xiang, Pianpian & Jiang, Kejun & Wang, Jiachen & He, Chenmin & Chen, Sha & Jiang, Weiyi, 2024. "Evaluation of LCOH of conventional technology, energy storage coupled solar PV electrolysis, and HTGR in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    9. Kartal, Mustafa Tevfik & Kılıç Depren, Serpil & Ayhan, Fatih & Ulussever, Talat, 2024. "Quantile-based heterogeneous effects of nuclear energy and political stability on the environment in highly nuclear energy-consuming and politically stable countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
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    11. Olga V. Panina & Stanislav E. Prokofiev & Natalia A. Barmenkova & Natalia L. Krasyukova & Nikolay P. Kushchev, 2020. "Prospects of Nuclear Energy Development in Asia: Comparison with Green Energy," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 123-131.

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