(Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant Photo: Screenshot from the WeChat account of China National Nuclear Corporation)
The Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant in Rongcheng, East China’s Shandong Province, which uses a high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (HTGR), entered commercial service on Wednesday following a 168-hour trial, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).
It is the world’s first fourth-generation (4G) nuclear power plant and uses China’s fully independent intellectual property rights, reflecting the nation’s global leading position in 4G nuclear power technology, said the NEA.
The HTGR will be safe even in the absence of all cooling capabilities and without taking any intervention measures, and accidents such as reactor core meltdowns or radioactive material releases won’t happen, said Zhang Zuoyi, chief designer of the project.
Compared with other clean power sources such as solar, wind and hydro, nuclear power is more stable and cost-effective, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times. It will largely facilitate China to achieve its carbon emission reduction goal as the safety concern is addressed, Lin noted.
Construction of the plant, with a capacity of 200,000 kilowatts, started in December 2012 by China Huaneng Group Co, Tsinghua University and China National Nuclear Corp. It was first linked to the power grid in December 2021.
The power plant was the collaborative effort of more than 500 companies across the industry chain including design, research and development, construction, component manufacturing and operations management, with the localization rate of equipment exceeding 90 percent.
Based on the construction of the plant, China Huaneng Group Co and Tsinghua University together developed six core technologies, fostered a group of experienced talent and formed a reproducible operation mechanism with independent intellectual property rights, said the Xinhua News Agency’s report.
Amid China’s effort in achieving carbon emission reduction goals, the installed capacity of the renewable energy power generation nationwide reached a new high, exceeding 1.4 billion kilowatts by the end of October, reaching 1.404 billion kilowatts, an increase of 20.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for about 49.9 percent of the country’s total installed capacity of power generation.
【小题1】What type of nuclear reactor does the Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant use?| A．Low-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor. | B．High-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor. |
| C．Third-generation nuclear reactor. | D．Liquid-cooled nuclear reactor. |
| A．China’s dependency on foreign nuclear technology. |
| B．A step backward in nuclear power technology. |
| C．China’s lead in third-generation nuclear tech. |
| D．The world’s first 4G nuclear power plant with China’s own technology. |
| A．a rapid increase in temperature |
| B．a severe accident in which the reactor core loses its structural integrity |
| C．the normal operation of a nuclear reactor |
| D．the release of radioactive material for energy production |
| A．20.8. | B．49.9. | C．28. | D．1.4. |
