China's nuclear power small-scale reactor project or more flowering

The cities of Zhangzhou, Fujian, and Chuzhou, Jiangxi are expected to “be settled” in small piles in the future. This is the two most clear choices for site selection after the Lanzhou project.

At the recent Central Enterprise Business Cooperation and Internal Investment Conference, China National Nuclear Corporation and Guodian Group have signed a "strategic cooperation agreement on small multi-purpose nuclear energy projects." According to the agreement, the two companies will actively look for a suitable site for the small-scale reactor project across the country, which clearly points out the preliminary work, project approval, and construction of the Xiaolei project on the Gulei Peninsula in Zhangzhou.

A few days later, CNNC’s CNNC New Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as CNNC New Energy) has signed cooperation agreements with the Ganzhou Municipal Government and the Yuzhou City Government on the "Zhangzhou Small Demonstration Project Cooperation Agreement" and the Small Multipurpose Modular Reactor Project. Intention agreement. As a result, the two cities were included in the planning of the small reactor project.

In the planning, the small-scale reactor demonstration project in Chenzhou will be invested and constructed by CNNC New Energy Co., Ltd. The first phase of the project plans to build two modular small reactors. The total investment is estimated to be about RMB 5 billion. After the project is completed, it can provide heat, electricity and seawater. Dilution of water sources.

Use is an important factor for site selection It is understood that CNNC New Energy Co., Ltd., which is responsible for site selection for small reactors, was jointly funded by CNNC and Guodian Group in April this year. It specializes in modular reactors (ACP100 independently developed by CNNC). The development, promotion, investment, construction and management. The company is responsible for marketing, fundraising and management of small reactors. The research and development of small reactors, overall engineering design, pre-engineering, and construction commissioning are conducted by CNNC's China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. and Central Plains International. Engineering Co., Ltd. bears.

Public information shows that cities currently in contact with CNNC New Energy include inland and coastal cities. Provinces include Gansu, Jilin, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guangxi.

Is the location of a small reactor similar to that of the large-scale nuclear reactor currently under construction?

According to Zhang Yizhou, an engineer at the China Nuclear Power Operational Technology Institute, the core capacity of small reactors is relatively small, and the requirements for hydrological environment, crust structure, and population density are not as severe as for large pressurized water reactors, and no nuclear emergency response is required for safety. However, in order to cooperate with the diversification of small reactors, such as petrochemical industrial parks, their nuclear safety concerns must be fully considered in design.

According to the reporter's understanding, the small pile projects in Lanzhou and Zhangzhou, which are now clearly established, are for urban heating and chemical industry construction.

“The service provided by the Xiaozhou reactor in the Quzhou petrochemical park is mainly for power supply and providing low- and medium-pressure steam for seawater desalination. High-concentration brines concentrated in seawater can also be used for salt chemical industry,” explained Zhang Yizhou. For the project situation, he introduced, “At present, the Ganzhou project will report the project proposal at the beginning of next year. Similarly, there are Fujian Putian City and Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province. Since the Ganzhou Project has laid a lot of early-stage foundation, the Putian Project will be earlier, Ganzhou Later, the Lanzhou heating project has temporarily stopped."

In addition, with regard to the common advantages of coastal and inland built small reactors, Zhang Yizhou stated that small reactors are good for the stable supply of electricity to small grids because the stability of small grids is not high, and access to small reactors can make up for this shortcoming. However, the development of China's power grid is relatively mature, and there will be relatively few applications in this area. At present, it is mainly focused on the development of industrial applications. “Also mentioned above, small reactors do not have high requirements for the hydrological environment, so whether to choose coastal or inland is not a major problem. The main problem should be close to the users. After all, small reactors are mainly based on heat supply and are not suitable for long distances. transmission."

Advantages obviously attract investment According to industry analysts, the most direct attraction of Xiaodui to local governments is the diversified application prospects of cogeneration, cogeneration, and desalination. Local governments also hope that Xiaodui can start projects as soon as possible. In the short-term development plan of CNNC New Energy, cooperation development has been emphasized, including consideration of the willingness of demand entities such as the local government of the site and the local people and companies.

In addition to local governments, the involvement of power generation companies is also a reason for the industry's focus on small reactor projects. Among the five major power generation groups, except for CPI, the other four are outside the threshold of nuclear power. However, Huaneng and Datang were involved in the participation and location of nuclear power projects several years ago.

In the eyes of the outside world, the participation of power generation companies has eased the huge investment pressure on nuclear power projects to some extent. Is this the conclusion?

Zhang Yizhou analyzed that nuclear power is a quality capital and CGNPC's reliance on the benefits of the Daya Bay nuclear power station to promote nuclear cultivation has made rolling progress into today's scene. “The threshold of nuclear power is too high, and power generation companies can only gradually penetrate in the form of equity participation. This time, Guodian started from a small reactor as an effort to enter the nuclear power industry.”

Moreover, in Zhang Yizhou's view, the financing advantages of Xiaodui are very obvious: the investment is not high, the site cost is very low, and the power generation capacity can be gradually increased, which is very helpful for the management and operation of the capital chain. "The financing of small piles is not a problem."

According to industry insiders, according to Westinghouse's estimates, three IRIS units (10-30 million kilowatts of innovative small pressurized water reactors developed by Westinghouse) were built at intervals of three years, with a total power of 1,000MW, a financing interest rate of 10%, and financing terms. For 10 years, the maximum negative cash flow needed is less than $700 million (about one-third of a single 1000 MW unit).

The realization of commercial use still needs to explore the current global nuclear industry again set off a boom in the development of small nuclear power units. The development of small reactors has also been a concern for many countries and nuclear giants as a new type of commercial interest. In March 2010, U.S. Secretary of Energy Zhu Xiwen pushed small modular reactors and called them "one of the most promising areas for nuclear power in the future."

Zhang Yizhou introduced that the technology of small reactors is now mostly from small reactors of nuclear-powered submarines, and the technical level and practicality of the projects are already very mature. In the case of light water reactors, Russia has small heat piles in remote areas of Siberia, and Akademik Lomonosov, a nuclear power plant in St. Petersburg. The two 35MW reactors can meet the needs of remote urban power for 200,000 people. Icebreaker KLT-40. In addition, the ABV that Russia is developing, CAREM developed by Argentina, SMART of Korea, MRX of Japan, etc., all represent the advanced level of the world's small reactors. Moreover, research on the small reactors of the fourth-generation nuclear reactors, such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, and molten salt reactors, is also in full swing.

“The development direction of small reactors is compactness, integration, modularization, and superior fuel cycle, so as to make them more flexible, durable and easy to construct, reflecting a more attractive business prospect. Of course, the main thing is to further improve its safety. Sex, the fourth-generation reactor technology represents this direction of development,” said Zhang Yizhou.

It is understood that China’s ACP100 light-water reactor is transformed from military applications (such as nuclear submarines) by the China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute. The National Energy Administration has allocated funds for system verification. According to CNNC's plan, ACP100, established in June 2010 as a key science and technology project, plans to use 2.5 years to complete the design and key test research.

“The development of military nuclear technology in China is very mature. Individuals think that the gap between China’s technology in small reactors and the international level is not big. But to achieve better commercial prospects and higher safety performance, we need to further explore.” Zhang Yizhou said.