China’s first 4th-generation nuclear power plant aims to be model of safety

China has stepped up its efforts to commercially utilize a fourth-generation nuclear reactor. At a coastal town in east China, a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor is under construction and those behind it say it will be the safest in the country.

CCTV’s Meng Qingsheng reports from Rongcheng, Shandong Province.

The plant is located in Shidao Bay, on the eastern tip of the Shandong peninsula. It’s China’s first plant with independent intellectual property rights and is a part of a national pilot program. It’s been designed to merge high efficiency and output, with minimum radiation leakage.

“An obvious feature of the 4th generation nuclear reactor is the intrinsic safety of the fuel elements, which are covered by silicon carbide particles. It will not result in radiation leakage because of the passive cooling system. Unlike the second and third generation reactors, the fourth will not experience a nuclear meltdown,” plant General Manager He Yunsheng said.

Construction began in 2012 with a designed capacity of 200 megawatts. It will start generating power by the end of 2017.

The entire project is estimated to be completed in 2024, when the plant’s capacity will be 40 times more than what’s expected next year. By then, He Yunsheng will be approaching retirement. After a lifetime of work in the nuclear industry, he said his only hope is that the technology continues to be used safely.