Plant helps region cut emissions, add power

The Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant has remarkably reduced the carbon footprint of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said a senior manager of the facility.

The nuclear power plant, which is able to generate 15 billion kWh of electricity every year, has cut the region's carbon dioxide emissions－a greenhouse gas leading to global warming－by 11.5 million metric tons, or the equivalent of what 32,500 hectares of forest can absorb a year, said Chen Jian, general manager of the power plant.

Chen said that Guangxi used to be heavily reliant on hydroelectric power. However, as most of the water resources available for hydropower projects have been exploited, the region had to resort to other sources of energy to meet the rising need for electricity.

In 2006, after Guangxi decided to build a nuclear power plant, Fangchenggang, a port city in southern Guangxi, was selected as the site of the facility thanks to its favorable geological conditions.

The power plant was built on ground with stable geological conditions, which means it is unlikely to be hit by a big earthquake that is able to cause a nuclear disaster similar to the one that happened in Fukushima in 2011, Chen said.

Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the power plant were put into operation in 2016, and the electricity they produce accounts for 10 percent of the power consumption of Guangxi.

"The Phase II project of the facility is under construction. Once completed, nuclear power will account for more than 15 percent of the energy mix of Guangxi," Chen said.

China is the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter, and nuclear power accounted for around 4 percent of the energy mix in 2017.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the nuclear power plant is built to the highest safety standards. It could withstand the shock of a magnitude-9 earthquake and survive the head-on strike of a large commercial airplane, Chen said.

The plant features domestically-developed Hualong One technology, which will serve as a model for a proposed nuclear power plant at Bradwell in the United Kingdom.

Chen said Hualong One has reached internationally advanced levels in safety performance and is cheaper compared with similar nuclear power technologies.

Fangchenggang is also a strategic point on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The construction of the nuclear power plant will boost the development of Guangxi as well as promote the initiative, Chen said.