China’s First Next-Gen Nuclear Reactor Enters Commercial Operations
(Bloomberg) -- China’s nuclear power ambitions received a boost Wednesday as the country’s first next-generation reactor entered into commercial operations.
China Huaneng Group Co.’s 200-megawatt unit at Shidao Bay is the world’s first high temperature gas-cooled reactor, the National Energy Administration said in a WeChat post. The reactor was given permission to start commercial service after it operated for 168 consecutive hours.
The unit differs from traditional nuclear plants by heating up helium instead of water to produce power, an important consideration for inland plants given increasing concerns over climate change-fueled droughts. It’s also designed to shut down automatically if something goes wrong — in contrast to some older systems that required electricity to trigger safety measures, which is what led to the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan in 2011.
The plant is more than a decade in the making. Construction began in 2012, and produced its first electricity in 2021.
China accounts for 25 of the 61 reactors that are under construction globally, and is expected to pour as much as $440 billion into new plants over the next decade and a half, overtaking the US as the top generator of atomic electricity.
Nuclear power is in the midst of a revival globally amid rising concerns of energy security and fossil fuel emissions. The US and 21 other countries, including France, the UK and Ukraine, signed a declaration last weekend to work toward tripling global nuclear power capacity by the middle of the century. China was not a signatory.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
KEEPING THE ENERGY INDUSTRY CONNECTED
Subscribe to our newsletter and get the best of Energy Connects directly to your inbox each week.
By subscribing, you agree to the processing of your personal data by dmg events as described in the Privacy Policy.
More renewables news
![BloomburgMedia_SH4TS0T0G1KW00_25-07-2024_20-00-09_638574624000000000.jpg](/media/xphbvafj/bloomburgmedia_sh4ts0t0g1kw00_25-07-2024_20-00-09_638574624000000000.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133664112097930000&format=webp)
UK Crown Estate Partners With GB Energy to Expand Wind Power
![BloomburgMedia_SH40SLT0G1KW00_25-07-2024_09-26-50_638574624000000000.jpg](/media/orol425i/bloomburgmedia_sh40slt0g1kw00_25-07-2024_09-26-50_638574624000000000.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133663732110870000&format=webp)
Vessel Firm’s $700 Million Takeover Targets Wind’s Ship Shortage
![Nordex](/media/d0gf3pte/nordex.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=132749588018400000&format=webp)
Nordex Group upgrades guidance after strong H1 2024 performance with 25% sales increase
![Totalenergies (5)](/media/2jrkcvan/totalenergies.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=132942325437870000&format=webp)
TotalEnergies launches new 100 MW/200 MWh battery storage development in Germany
![Totalenergies](/media/41ojyade/totalenergies.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=132881916816700000&format=webp)
TotalEnergies acquires a stake in the OranjeWind offshore wind farm in the Netherlands
![Battery Storage (1)](/media/bedjsnil/battery-storage.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=132953656215970000&format=webp)
EWEC issues request for proposals for the development of 400MW battery energy storage system
![BloomburgMedia_SGH4U3T0AFB400_24-07-2024_20-00-09_638573760000000000.jpg](/media/4zujntna/bloomburgmedia_sgh4u3t0afb400_24-07-2024_20-00-09_638573760000000000.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133663248098100000&format=webp)
Refining Woes Hit Big Oil as Pressure Rises on Investor Returns
![Hydrogen Image (1)](/media/ouhfwhgg/hydrogen-image-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133093644996330000&format=webp)
EnBW to invest €1 billion in national hydrogen core network in Germany
![BloomburgMedia_SH2XDFT0AFB400_24-07-2024_09-00-10_638573760000000000.jpg](/media/jmmhvoyf/bloomburgmedia_sh2xdft0afb400_24-07-2024_09-00-10_638573760000000000.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133662852101070000&format=webp)
GE Vernova Now Must Explain Broken Wind Turbine to Investors
![BloomburgMedia_SGTQ8GDWX2PS00_23-07-2024_20-00-09_638572896000000000.jpg](/media/obyb3qfl/bloomburgmedia_sgtq8gdwx2ps00_23-07-2024_20-00-09_638572896000000000.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=240&height=135&rnd=133662384097370000&format=webp)
SunPower Plunges After Halting Installs and Shipments
![CSIS Thumbnail](/media/o0acqjyg/csis_thumbnail.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133566075809700000&format=webp)
CSIS: long-term LNG demand to reshape global export capacity growth
![Dr Carole Nakhle Thumbnail](/media/gqrpjths/dr-carole-nakhle_thumbnail.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133542056370600000&format=webp)
More women in energy vital to the industry’s success
![Vandana Hari Thumbnail](/media/gz3dyktl/vandana-hari-thumbnail.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133511540022930000&format=webp)
India’s energy sector presents lucrative opportunities for global companies
![OIL INDIA Thumbnail (1)](/media/oddlww2x/oil-india-thumbnail-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133506537128730000&format=webp)
Oil India charts the course to ambitious energy growth
![DNV Thumbnail](/media/chkphnjn/dnv-thumbnail.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133491856590700000&format=webp)
Maritime sector is stepping up to the challenges of decarbonisation
Partner content
![Navigating the trading seas: exploring the significance of benchmarks-1859882229](/media/qlacaiww/navigating-the-trading-seas-exploring-the-significance-of-benchmarks-1859882229.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133613577584600000&format=webp)
Navigating the trading seas: exploring the significance of benchmarks
![New Lng Ship Web 17829](/media/vjrjyypa/new-lng-ship-web-17829.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133179936218300000&format=webp)
Back to the Future(s): the best commodities benchmarks are still physically settled
![Dr Klaus](/media/4eyh2dr0/dr-klaus.jpg?center=0.3953747239980292,0.50683017007953435&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133517897092430000&format=webp)
Ebara Elliott Energy offers a range of products for a sustainable energy economy
![ESSAR](/media/5uafghtj/essar.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133524466961070000&format=webp)
Essar outlines how its CBM contribution is bolstering for India’s energy landscape
![HNC 7611 V2](/media/0dqbya15/hnc_7611_v2.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=540&height=300&rnd=133517899616530000&format=webp)