The status quo of China's nuclear power and the uranium gap solution

Mainland China has eleven nuclear power reactors in commercial operation; six are under construction, and several more are slated for development in the near future. Additional reactors are planned, including some of the world's most advanced, to give a fivefold increase in nuclear capacity up to 40 GWe by 2020, and then a further three to fourfold increase to 120–160 GWe by 2030. The natural uranium supply, however, does not correspond to the speed of nuclear power development because of low production and poor deposits. After examining the existing nuclear power status quo in China, this paper provides an experimental model and a calculation method for the natural uranium needed that is based on the nuclear capacity to be installed in 2014. The natural uranium gap is further discussed through an analysis of the uranium resource distribution, reserves, and production in China, together with approaches to fill the gap. To meet the imminent uranium peak that will be required for fuel demands, China should diversify natural uranium sources and develop advanced nuclear power systems to save fuel.     

解析中国的核能战略

分析了我国发展核电三步走的战略（第一步压水堆核电站,第二步快中子增殖堆电站和第三步核聚变堆电站）及发展核电所需要的铀资源储备（重视国内外的铀资源利用）,进而对核燃料循环中的乏燃料后处理及乏燃料处置分离和嬗变技术（加速器驱动的次临界系统ADS）进行了讨论。     

核能发电的优点及世界核电发展动向

首先介绍了核电在资源、环境和经济性方面的情况,指出核电用的核燃料在地壳和海洋中的储藏量在相当长的时间内不会因为一定规模的核动力应用而出现资源紧张的状况;核电是各种能源中温室气体排放量最小的发电方式,核电与其他发电方式在经济方面具有可比性。然后介绍了世界各国和我国核电的发展趋势,最后提出面对发展核电的大好局面应注意的问题。     

Spent nuclear fuel policies in historical perspective: An international comparison

The purpose of this article is to explain why the world's nuclear power countries differ from each other with respect to their spent nuclear fuel (SNF) policies. The emergence and evolution of three principal SNF approaches are analyzed: direct disposal, reprocessing and SNF export. Five broad explanatory factors are identified and discussed in relation to the observed differences in policy outcomes: military ambitions and non-proliferation, technological culture, political culture and civil society, geological conditions, and energy policy. SNF policy outcomes can generally be seen to result from a complex interaction between these broad factors, but it is also possible to discern a number of important patterns. To the extent that the five factors may undergo far-reaching changes in the future, the historical experience of how they have shaped SNF policies also give a hint of possible future directions in SNF policymaking around the world.     

Market-driven energy pricing necessary to ensure China's power supply

China's rapid economic growth has strained its power supply, as manifested for instance by the widespread 2008 power shortage. The cause for this shortage is thought to be the current Chinese energy pricing system, which is mainly government rather than market controlled. Government-regulated price-caps for coal have seriously affected coal supply. At the same time price-caps for electricity supply have caused suspension of power plant operation. As a result, the average operating time of coal-fired power plants declined 50 h annually across the nation in the first half of 2008 compared to the previous year, despite clear power shortages. Here, it will be suggested that energy pricing, set by supply and demand may effectively discourage excessive growth in heavy industry, substantially encourage energy conservation and efficiency, and curb the rapid electricity demand in China. It will be argued that a market-oriented electricity pricing mechanism is required for China to secure its future power supply.     

我国核电工程咨询公司发展的分析与研究

培育我国成熟的核电工程咨询（AE）公司是满足中国核电快速发展的必然。结合国外核电AE公司的发展,对目前我国核电AE公司的现状和实践进行了分析和比较。面对我国核电建设发展规模化、自主化的需要,提出我国核电AE公司当前的主要任务以及促进其进一步发展的几种设想。     

火电与核电的厂址选择及差异性分析

针对建设节约型企业的要求,对火电与核电的厂址选择的差异性进行了分析,以达到节约建设用地的目的,对建成节约型企业具有指导意义。     

我国电力工业和发电技术未来发展趋势

传统工业化走的是通过高消耗追求经济数量增长和先污染后治理的道路。介绍在传统工业化面临严重危机的背景下,可持续发展战略和新型工业化的兴起和特点,充分体现了未来发展的要求。在分析、总结世界能源发展的经验和规律的同时,对未来世界能源发展进行了宏观预测。以科学发展观为指导,采用未来学的方法,结合我国国情、发展现状和近中期发展目标,对本世纪特别是21世纪前20a我国电力工业和发电技术趋势进行了初步探讨,对国家能源安全等问题进行讨论。     

中国核电安全节能与节能安全研究

阐述中国核电安全与节能减排要求,分析在核电安全前提下的节能和节能条件下的安全,明确了安全与节能的辩证关系,指出发展核电既是节能减排的要求,核电本身更需要节能减排,通过协调地做好安全节能与节能安全途径,提出建设符合我国国情的安全节能绿色核电站基本原则和措施。     

中国核电站节能减排问题研究

介绍核电发展现状及其节能减排意义,提出核电节能减排应坚持“引进、利用、改造、创新和安全”的“十字”原则,通过费用投入与节约、燃料节约、节电、节水、系统设备节能、三废处理等途径来实现。明确核电节能减排的意义和必要性,把握核电节能减排的原则,按照核电节能的正确途径实施,才能安全、合理地发展核能事业。     

Environmental and health impacts of a policy to phase out nuclear power in Sweden

Nuclear power faces an uncertain future in Sweden. Major political parties, including the Green party of the coalition-government have recently strongly advocated for a policy to decommission the Swedish nuclear fleet prematurely. Here we examine the environmental, health and (to a lesser extent) economic impacts of implementing such a plan. The process has already been started through the early shutdown of the Barsebäck plant. We estimate that the political decision to shut down Barsebäck has resulted in ~2400 avoidable energy-production-related deaths and an increase in global CO₂ emissions of 95 million tonnes to date (October 2014). The Swedish reactor fleet as a whole has reached just past its halfway point of production, and has a remaining potential production of up to 2100 TWh. The reactors have the potential of preventing 1.9–2.1 gigatonnes of future CO₂-emissions if allowed to operate their full lifespans. The potential for future prevention of energy-related-deaths is 50,000–60,000. We estimate an 800 billion SEK (120 billion USD) lower-bound estimate for the lost tax revenue from an early phase-out policy. In sum, the evidence shows that implementing a ‘nuclear-free’ policy for Sweden (or countries in a similar situation) would constitute a highly retrograde step for climate, health and economic protection.     

West Germany's efforts to close the nuclear fuel cycle: Strategies for radioactive waste management

West Germany's efforts to reach a mature nuclear economy by [closing] the [back end] of the nuclear fuel cycle are discussed with special emphasis on radioactive waste management strategies. the radioactive wastes that would be generated in a closed nuclear fuel cycle are described. A brief discussion is given of the motives that underlie the current international disagreement regarding the desirability of, and the need for, closing the nuclear fuel cycle. West Germany's concept for closing the nuclear fuel cycle is outlined including institutional arrangements and responsibilities. A discussion of radioactive waste classification follows. Expected volumes and inventories of radioactive wastes are pointed out. Current practices, and research and development work in the treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes are outlined. A final section is devoted to the history, circumstances and implications of the current requirement for a [solution] for the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle as a precondition for continued expansion of nuclear power in West Germany.     

A study of the probabilistic risk assessment to the dry storage system of spent nuclear fuel

Due to the large power supply in the energy market since 1960s, the nuclear power planets have been consistently constructed throughout the world in order to maintain and supply sufficient fundamental power generation. Up to now, most of the planets have been operated to a point where the spent fuel pool has reached its design capacity volume. To prevent the plant from shutdown due to the spent fuel pool exceeding the design capacity, the dry cask storage can provides a solution for both the spent fuel pool capacity and the mid-term storage method for the spent fuel bundles at nuclear power planet.     

美国核电工业发展概况及对我国的启示

美国是世界上最早推动核电发展的国家,其核电工业发展经历了黄金发展阶段、冰冻阶段和复苏阶段。截至2008年底,美国核电总装机容量达到10．1×10^4MW,发电量8090×10^8kW·h,高居世界首位。2008年美国核电反应堆平均燃料更换时间为38天,机组容量因子已突破90％,在核电反应堆机组数量未增加的条件下发电量稳步增长,已占到美国总发电量的20％左右。核电的发展离不开政府的管理和积极政策的引导,否则很难发展起来。目前第三代核电站大部分都是美国和日本设计的,我国必须加大科研力度,缩小这种差距,推进核电设备国产化．实现真正拉动内需的目的。对运行核电站进行良好经营,可以挖潜增效,提高核电的内在竞争力和经济效益。应努力保障核电反应堆的安全性,核电反应堆发生事故对国家经济和信心的打击是非常巨大、持久的。同时,保证核燃料的供应也很重要。     

Pathways to power: Policy transitions and the reappearance of the nuclear power option in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan, a Canadian prairie province, has recently begun to restructure the provincial energy system. The institutional, technological and social bases of the Saskatchewan power regime have been disrupted by both exogenous pressures and endogenous problems, providing an opportunity for alternative energy options to be considered as possible power alternatives. As the province addresses the long-term socio-technical transition (STR) associated with a regime change in the power sector a number of alternative energy options have been identified. Using a transition management approach, this paper argues that the path taken will depend very much on whether these alternatives can be adopted as modifications of the existing STR – leaving the key actors, institutions and relationships essentially untouched – or whether they will necessitate a wholesale reconstruction of the regime itself. In this paper we analyze how, over time, the socio-technical configurations of the energy system became very durable as existing technologies become embedded in regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, users practices and expert communities. We then consider the potential of several alternative technological trajectories and the likelihood of one of these socio technical regimes emerging in Saskatchewan.     

Automation infrastructure and operation control strategy in a stand-alone power system based on renewable energy sources

The design of the automation system and the implemented operation control strategy in a stand-alone power system in Greece are fully analyzed in the present study. A photovoltaic array and three wind generators serve as the system main power sources and meet a predefined load demand. A lead-acid accumulator is used to compensate the inherent power fluctuations (excess or shortage) and to regulate the overall system operation, based on a developed power management strategy. Hydrogen is produced by using system excess power in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer and is further stored in pressurized cylinders for subsequent use in a PEM fuel cell in cases of power shortage. A diesel generator complements the integrated system and is employed only in emergency cases, such as subsystems failure. The performance of the automatic control system is evaluated through the real-time operation of the power system where data from the various subsystems are recorded and analyzed using a supervised data acquisition unit. Various network protocols were used to integrate the system devices into one central control system managing in this way to compensate for the differences between chemical and electrical subunits. One of the main advantages is the ability of process monitoring from distance where users can perform changes to system principal variables. Furthermore, the performance of the implemented power management strategy is evaluated through simulated scenarios by including a case study analysis on system abilities to meet higher than expected electrical load demands.     

An energy management strategy based on dynamic power factor for fuel cell/battery hybrid locomotive

In order to efficiently absorb more regenerative braking energy which sustains much longer compared with the conventional vehicle, and guarantee the safety of the hybrid system under the actual driving cycle of locomotive, an energy management control based on dynamic factor strategy is proposed for a scale-down locomotive system which consists of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and battery pack. The proposed strategy which has self-adaption function for different driving cycles aims to achieve the less consumption of hydrogen and higher efficiency of the hybrid system. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is able to maintain the charge state of battery (SOC) better than Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS), and the proposed strategy could keep the change trend of SOC, which the final SOC is closed to the target value regardless of the initial SOC of battery. Moreover, the hydrogen consumption has been reduced by 0.86g and the efficiency of overall system has been raised of 2% at least than ECMS under the actual driving cycle through the proposed strategy. Therefore, the proposed strategy could improve the efficiency of system by diminishing the conversion process of energy outputted by fuel cell.     

Parameter sizing and stability analysis of a highway fuel cell electric bus power system using a multi-objective optimization approach

Although FC based electric buses are currently popular on urban streets or in short transit routes within large facilities, the version that is designed to operate on a highway, which has much higher dynamic requirements, is yet to be well developed. This research proposes to adopt the NSGA-II based multi-objective optimization scheme to optimize a fuel cell-battery-supercapacitor (SC) based FC power system (FCPS) that is specifically for a FC electric bus operating on the highway fuel economy cycle (HWFET). The optimization objectives are to minimize the FC's fuel consumption, the required battery and SC size and the battery degradation rate. More importantly, the optimization scheme is based on a combined energy management strategy (EMS) software parameter and hardware component sizing approach which is important for guaranteeing dynamically stable responses. This characteristic is achieved by imposing constraints that limit the transient time responses the DC-Bus capacitor voltage electrical parameters upon a generic step change in load power. Results demonstrate that dynamic stability can be guaranteed with proper software parameter and hardware components combinations without any trade-off requirements with the optimizer objectives. Moreover, the system mass and the battery degradation objectives are in trade-off but don't have any dependence to hydrogen consumption.     

Dynamic modelling of a low-concentration solar power plant: A control strategy to improve flexibility

This paper deals with a dynamic analysis on a low concentration solar power plants coupled with Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC), which can be an alternative to PV systems because of their capability of providing a smoother electricity production due to their thermal inertia. At least within certain restraints, moreover they are able to exploit diffused solar radiation.The dynamic model of a plant with static Compound Parabolic Collectors and an ORC system, using a rotary volumetric expander, was developed using the simulation tool AMESim. All the main components of the plant are modelled: solar collectors field, heat transfer fluid circuit, heat exchangers and the ORC system. The plant response to the radiation of different days was analyzed to quantify the daily production and the trend of various plant parameters. Real ambient conditions were employed for the simulations by using data obtained by historical series.The results showed that the employment of a volumetric expansion device with variable rotating speed allows the plant to operate at different radiations and ambient temperatures without the need of any storage system or external heat sources. Results can be extended to other applications, such as low temperature waste heat recovery or geothermal systems.     

Application of Pontryagin's Minimal Principle to the energy management strategy of plugin fuel cell electric vehicles

This paper proposes an optimal real-time energy management strategy based on the Pontryagin's Minimal Principle (PMP) targeting at minimizing operation cost for a plug in proton electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell city bus. The Dynamic Programming (DP) and PMP strategies are firstly deduced. Influences of the initial co-state value on the PMP strategy are analyzed. The DP, PMP, Charge Depleting Charge Sustaining (CDCS) and Blended strategies are compared in a simulation model. Results show that, major factors that influent the operation cost are the end value of battery State of Charge (SoC), the SoC trajectory curve, and the distribution of the working points of the fuel cell system. From a statistic viewpoint, the operation cost increases almost linearly with the end value of the SoC with a gradient of 1.41 Yuan.%⁻¹. Compared with a CDCS strategy, the operation cost can be reduced by 7.2% through taking the DP strategy, and by 5.9% through taking the PMP strategy. The PMP strategy leads to an operation cost that is 1.4% higher than the DP, but it is applicable in the real-time control system. An online energy management strategy based on PMP was set up and applied to an embedded controller. Tests in the 30 “China city bus typical cycles” showed that, the fuel economy was 5.8 kg (100 km)⁻¹, and the operation cost was 271.3 Yuan (100 km)⁻¹.