China is going to launch the country’s first heat supply project using a nuclear reactor. This was stated by the Chinese state nuclear company China General Nuclear, which will carry out this task with the support of Tsinghua University.
According to the project approved at the meeting of the National Energy Administration, the first heat supply facility in the country using the NHR200-II low-temperature nuclear reactor technologies will be installed in the northern part of China.
It is expected that the heating capacity of the facility will be 100 MW (the heat power is up to 200 MW).
The National Nuclear Safety Authority already assessed the safety of the technology. It is assumed that the use of a low-temperature reactor is quite safe and promising. This energy source can be used not only for heating residential houses, but also for heat supply to large industrial enterprises. According to preliminary calculations, the creation and installation of a low-temperature reactor in China will take approximately 2-3 years.
The Chinese leadership decided to implement this project, because for several years the northern region of the country suffers from significant air pollution during the heating season. In such a situation, nuclear energy is one of the alternatives to resolving the problem that has arisen.
