Paris (CNS) -- China will carry on researching and developing nuclear power technology, certain that currently available technology makes it a secure option, said Zhang Guobao, former Direcotr of National Energy Administration, at the International Capital Conference 2011 of the Boao Forum for Asia, on November 24.
He pointed out at a symposium reflecting the Fukushima accident that nuclear power accounts for only a small percentage of China's energy structure and will be explored further to satisfy domestic energy consumption.
China stalled new nuclear power plant projects after the Fukushima accident. It is now determined to go on with nuclear power exploitation, accompanied by the promise to stress safer nuclear power operations, since they will inevitably play a vital role in the future of its energy industry, Zhang added.
Not only is it necessary to draw lessons from the Fukushima tragedy, which was actually avoidable had current technology been used, global cooperation must be enhanced to safely develop this huge power resource. Cautious development is necessary to prevent world-scale catastrophies, he stressed.
Chairman Wang Binghua of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) introduced China's non-dynamic nuclear power technology at the symposium, one with the great advantage that it can be operated without external power sources in an emergency such as an earthquake or a tsunami.
Wang explained the advantages of this safe and economical technology too – it can shorten plant construction time, and is cheaper than coal-fired power.
