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China, its safety reputation tattered by lead paint in toys, cancer-causing chemicals in seafood and antifreeze ingredients in toothpaste, is gearing up to become the world's biggest producer and operator of nuclear plants.The country plans to build about 30 new reactors by 2020, at a cost totaling 450 billion yuan ($61 billion). It could add as many as 300 in time, according to an official from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.Deals signed this year with Westinghouse Electric Co. and Areva SA will put the Chinese in position to copy the latest technology. Its biggest threat may be as a competitor in selling the $3 billion to $5 billion nuclear plants at home and abroad. China's atomic industry may follow the copy-and-compete blueprint laid out by local makers of cars, drugs and coal-fired power plants."The driving force is self-reliance,'' said Howard Bruschi, 67, Westinghouse's former chief technology officer, who two decades ago helped spearhead the company's efforts to get a foothold in China."I don't kid myself that they want to make their own designs and develop them and export them.''The country of 1.3 billion people needs clean sources of electricity to fuel the fastest-growing major economy. At the same time, as China is poised to pass the U.S. as the world's biggest producer of gases that contribute to global warming, it's under pressure to curb emissions. A new round of United Nations-sponsored talks on climate change opens next week on the Indonesian island of Bali.Reactor, Uranium Sales
The Chinese nuclear program took another step forward Nov. 26 when Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive officer of Paris-based Areva, signed an 8 billion-euro ($12 billion) contract to sell two new European pressurized water reactors, or EPRs, and a long-term supply of uranium to China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao stood at the table.In July, Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse clinched a $5.3 billion deal with China's State Nuclear Power Technology Co. and partners to build four of its new AP1000 reactors. The contract was the company's first for a nuclear reactor since 1987 and its first in China.Officials of both Western companies said they agreed to transfer technology to local suppliers, meaning China will be able to become a discount competitor. Chinese officials themselves cite Western criteria-safety and cost-for deciding whether Westinghouse's model will become a blueprint for future plants.
'Wait and See'
"In principle, the absorbed, redeveloped AP1000 technology from Westinghouse will be the dominant technology for China's future nuclear industry development,'' said Yu Zhuoping, a State Nuclear Power Technology adviser."But we need to wait and see the real costs, safety, reliability and operational performances of these four reactors before making further conclusions.''That position contrasts with China's safety record in other industries. In nuclear power, international manufacturers are using China as a proving ground to demonstrate to potential U.S. customers that new reactors are safer than older designs. What's more, Chinese suppliers may help make nuclear power competitive with cheaper energy sources such as coal and natural gas by bringing down the price of components."In the Western world, we talk about nuclear renaissance, but in China it's not a renaissance,'' said Gavin Liu, Westinghouse China's chief representative."They're working on the nuclear project on a day-to-day basis, accelerating the whole development process. It's important to build the first AP1000, no matter where we build it, and China's market demand puts it into the best position.''
As in the days of Noah...
