China Slows Nuclear Expansion

An anonymous reader writes "Hui Zhang and Shangui Zhao describe China's decision to move ahead with nuclear power. Following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, China slowed its rapid expansion of nuclear power and undertook a major reevaluation of safety practices. The government has now resumed approval of new nuclear power projects, and is cautiously moving forward. Good description of safety issues that remain." They are suspending in-land construction, and are aiming at 58GWe instead of 80GWe of generation capacity by 2020. It's still more than the 40GWe they planned to build under their 2007 plans.

Comments

Once we get the first real AP1000

[dbIII]

Once we get the first running AP1000 maybe people will no longer pretend that that next generation is perfect in every way and we can get some sane discussions with real numbers.

Stop asking accountants and ask mining engineers,

[crovira]

stop building nuclear power plants out in the open air and bury the damn things half a kilometer underground.

Takes care of explosions. (Even if it blows up, get your people out before it blows, seal the shaft and who cares?)
Takes care of terrorist attacks. (The terrorists are NOT going to dig half kilometer long tunnels to get to your fissiles.)
Takes care of leakage. (Its half a kilometer down so its not going in your water table.)
Takes care of waste disposal. (You just dig a bunch of side chambers.)
Takes care of expansion. (You just dig a bunch of side chambers.)
Takes care of exposure. (It never sees the light of day, it never gets above ground.)

You can build the cooling towers, the power distribution towers and the offices above ground but BURY all the rest way down deep.

If China doesn't build nukes...

[PvtVoid]

...then we're all fucked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w26WMRstQUk