china completes nuclear safety check

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3E7JB0K920110811


China completes post-Fukushima nuclear safety inspection
Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:29am GMT


BEIJING Aug 11 (Reuters) - China has completed a safety inspection of its nuclear power plants, raising the possibility that work could resume on an ambitious reactor building programme that was suspended in the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.

According to a notice published on the website of the China Nuclear Energy Association (www.china-nea.cn) on Thursday, safety inspectors finally completed a tour of the country's existing reactors and nuclear construction sites on Aug 5.

China suspended all new approvals and ordered a halt to construction on March 16, five days after Japan's Fukushima Daiichi reactor complex was hit by a 10-metre tsunami that tore across the country's northeast coast, leaving it on the verge of a meltdown.

Beijing was originally planning to raise its 2020 nuclear capacity target to more than 80 gigawatts, up from 10.8 gigawatts at the end of 2010. Some in the sector said 100 GW or more would be within their capabilities.

However, the government has promised to "adjust and improve" its nuclear construction programme, and experts have urged it to scale back the target amid concerns about the reliability of new reactor designs, a lack of qualified personnel and the security of uranium supplies.

Since March, industry officials have repeated that China's commitment to nuclear power remains unchanged, even if the pace of construction is slowed down as China absorbs the lessons from Fukushima.

In May, China's National Energy Administration said total nuclear capacity would rise to 40 GW by 2015, with another 28 reactor units scheduled to go into operation within the next four years.

On Monday, the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, one of the country's big two state-owned reactor builders, put another 1-GW nuclear unit into commercial operation at its Ling Ao facility in the southern province of Guangdong.

It brought total nuclear capacity to 11.878 GW, and the total number of working reactors to 14. (; Editing by Ken WillsReporting by David Stanway)