China Nuclear Group model for
a floating reactor
You know that thing
where Australians don't want nuclear reactors built in our own backyard? Yeah,
China doesn't have that. It's well on its way to becoming a world leader in
nuclear power; its 37 reactors are already producing 32.4 gigawatts of
electricity, and more than 20 more reactors are currently under construction
And
now China wants to take the lead in building nuclear power plants in open
waters. These floating plants could power oil rigs and islands off the coast,
or travel to disaster-struck coasts to provide relief.
Bobbing
nuclear power plants are often mounted on a broad-beamed hull, and typically
have 25 percent the capacity of their larger, land-based brethren. Those
floating reactors can be positioned to coastal and offshore areas that quickly
need power (such as areas devastated by tsunamis), or rented out to customers
who urgently need a ready supply of electricity.
China
National Nuclear Power
China
National Nuclear Power (CNNP) is partnering with Chinese shipyards and electric
machinery companies to develop a $150 million project. The combination
of nuclear reactor suppliers and a shipyard suggests that floating nuclear
reactors are going to be the main focus of the joint venture.
China
Nuclear Group
The
project may later expand to include other nuclear-powered civilian ships, like
icebreakers, but right now sights seem to be set on floating reactors. China's
been planning ship-bound nuclear facilities for a while: China General Nuclear
Power Group, CNNC's main domestic competitor, announced in January 2016
that it would build a floating ACPR50S reactor to enter service
in 2020, with a thermal output of 200 megawatts and electrical output of 60
megawatts.
CNNC,
for its part, signed a 2015 agreement with Lloyd's Register for regulatory
support in developing a sea-based, 100-megawatt version of its ACP100
reactor, which is likely the joint venture's intended launch project.
Floating
reactors can support offshore drilling and production rigs by providing them
with large amounts of power, thus reducing the need to store extra fuel on
board for power generation. That means a much safer rig.
China
Nuclear Group
Vice
Director Wang Yiren of the National Defense State Administration for Science,
Technology, and Industry said that China would prioritize the development
of floating nuclear reactors in order to provide offshore oil and gas
rigs with power, as well as to operate desalination plants and equipment
on remote islands, such as disputed features in the South China Sea.
The
floating nuclear reactors could also power Chinese underwater mining
operations, in which China has already invested heavily, and deepwater
logistical bases for naval usage.
Putting
nuclear reactors on a ship to supply power to remote islands, offshore
facilities, and coastal areas isn't a new idea. The U.S. Army built
the world's first floating reactor, the SS Sturgis MH-1A, a 10-megawatt
converted Liberty Ship, in 1967. It supplied power to the Panama Canal
Zone from 1968 to 1975, before being defueled in 1977. Decades later, in
2010, Russia launched the 21,000-ton, 70 megawatt Akademik Lomonosov, which is
expected to deploy in 2018 or 2019 to Vilyuchinsk, on the remote Kamchatka
Peninsula.
Of
course, floating nuclear reactors have many issues. They're expensive, for
one, and anti-nuclear popular opinion could make deployments controversial—all
the more so if to contested areas like the South China Sea. Additionally, a
floating nuclear reactor would almost definitely require a substantial crew and
security force to protect against accidents and malicious actors.
CNNP
hopes to have the first of these floating reactors in operation around 2020.
Lloyd's Registry will assist with regulatory and safety issues.
China
National Nuclear Power
So
why all the hoopla about floating nuclear reactors? They point to the scale and
ambition of Chinese security and infrastructure projects in the coastal and
high seas, as well as a broader vision of future Chinese maritime power.
Article from Popular Science
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