14 DAY TRIAL // China is presently dealing with (better said, trying to deal with) a major air pollution crisis. Recent news on the topic says that, in an attempt to solve this problem, the country has turned its attention to nuclear power.
More precisely, it would appear that it is now working on coming up with a new design of uranium-free nuclear power plants, The Guardian informs.
The publication details that, according to information made available by the World Nuclear Association, China is now home to 20 operational nuclear plants.
Another 28 such facilities are now under construction, and, like the former, these too have uranium-fueled reactors at their core.
In order to keep these nuclear power plants up and running, the country has been forced to import noteworthy amounts of uranium.
Unlike this element, thorium is much more abundant. Hence, China is now looking to develop a new generation of thorium-fueled nuclear plants.
Media reports say that, back in January, the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up an advanced research center and entrusted a team of scientists with developing the first such nuclear facility in 25 years' time.
Given the severity of the air pollution crisis the country is dealing with, the country's government saw fit to have a chat with the specialists at said research center, and urged them to complete the project 15 years earlier than the previously established deadline.
In a recent interview with the press, Professor Li Zhong, who is a member of the team asked to develop the new generation of nuclear power plants, admitted that he and his colleagues were under considerable pressure to finish their work sooner rather than later.
He also expressed concerns that, in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, it was likely that at least some people in China would not be all that pleased about the idea to further develop the country's nuclear industry.
Still, Professor Li Zhong added that, all things considered, switching to nuclear power was the country's best shot at reducing coal consumption and thus curbing local air pollution.
“In the past, the government was interested in nuclear power because of the energy shortage. Now, they are more interested because of smog,” the researcher reportedly told the South China Morning Post.
“The problem of coal has become clear. If the average energy consumption per person doubles, this country will be choked to death by polluted air,” he went on to argue.
According to the World Nuclear Association, China hopes to sport 60 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2020. It also expects that, given the right policies, this capacity will up to an impressive 150 megawatts by 2030.