CONSULTING

traditionally been sited, but also at new inland sites. 496 But this was suspended after Fukushima.
In 2014, a State Council circular discussing the State Council’s Energy Development Strategy
Action Plan (2014-2020) indicated that inland nuclear power still required further research and
proof of safety. 497 The safety rationale for the restriction of construction in inland areas relates to
two different aspects of safety: prevention of severe accidents, and mitigation of the consequences
of a severe accident, should one occur. The public, naturally, is concerned about the potential for
accidents, especially in the areas close to sites selected for reactor construction. 498 There is also
concern about China’s growing water stress and increasing water demand from the power sector.
The resulting debate over the siting of reactors away from the coast has pushed back plans; the
current expectation is that inland nuclear construction will not start before at least 2020. 499
The other significant decision made by policy makers in the aftermath of Fukushima was that
China would build only Generation III or III+ reactors. The initial assumption was that this
stipulation would lead to the adoption of AP1000 technology. In 2011, a general manager in the
China Power Investment Corporation pointed out that the “reactors in the Japanese nuclear power
plants, which have been affected by the massive quake, are Generation II reactors and have to rely
on back-up electricity to power their cooling system in times of emergency”, whereas the “AP1000
nuclear power reactors, currently under construction in China’s coastal areas and set to be
promoted in its vast hinterland, are Generation III reactors and have built in safety features to
overcome such a problem”. 500
However, China’s experience in building the imported AP1000 and EPR designs has been fairly
troubled, with significant delays and cost escalations. 501 The EPR units being built at Taishan were
originally scheduled to “be commissioned at the end of 2013 and in autumn 2014 respectively,
and France’s AREVA had hoped “to have started work on more reactors” by then. 502 None of that
496 Fenglei Du, “Site Selection for Nuclear Power Plants in China”, IAEA, as presented at the Technical
Meeting on Common Challenges On Site Selection For Nuclear Power Plants, Vienna (Austria), 6-
9 July 2010.
497 CNEA, “Guowuyuan bangongting guanyu yinfa nengyuan fazhan zhanlue xingdong jihua (2014nian-
2020nian) de tongzhi, State Council General Office Circular concerning the publication of the Energy
Development Strategy Action Plan (2014-2020)”, China National Energy Administration, 2014, see
http://www.nea.gov.cn/2014-12/03/c_133830458.htm, accessed 2 March 2015.
498 Chris Buckley, “China’s Nuclear Vision Collides With Villagers’ Fears”, New York Times,
21 November 2015, see http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/world/asia/chinas-nuclear-vision-collides-withvillagers-fears.html,
accessed 16 June 2016.
499 C. F. Yu, “Construction on Inland Plants Unlikely Before 2020”, NIW, 1 April 2016..
500 WantChinaTimes.com, “China to promote nuclear power despite explosion in Japan”, 13 March 2011,
see http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20110313000104&cid=1102, accessed
24 March 2015.
501 Chuin-Wei Yap, Brian Spegele, “China’s First Advanced Nuclear Reactor Faces More Delays”, Wall Street
Journal, 15 January 2015, see http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-first-advanced-nuclear-reactor-faces-moredelays-1421297393,
accessed 23 March 2015; David Stanway, Kathy Chen, “China’s debut Westinghouse
reactor delayed until June 2017: exec”, Reuters, 9 March 2016, see http://www.reuters.com/article/uschina-parliament-nuclear-idUSKCN0WB09F;
and Wong Lok-to, “Safety Fears Cause Concern Amid Delays to
China’s Taishan Nuclear Plant”, Radio Free Asia, 7 March 2016, see
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/safety-03072016114147.html, both accessed 1 July 2016.
502 Harold Thibault, “Construction schedule on Chinese third-generation nuclear plants races ahead of
European models”, The Guardian, 28 December 2010, see
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/dec/28/china-areva-taishan-nuclear-thibault, accessed
16 June 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 140 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016