Year
2009
Abstract
China is currently operating elevennuclear power reactors with installed capacity of 9 GWe, and it plans to increase its total nuclear capacity to 40 GWe by 2020. Chinais seekingto reprocess the civilian spent fuel, and to recycle the plutonium in MOX fuel for its light water reactors (LWRs) andfast breeder reactors(FBRs). A pilot reprocessing plant with a capacity of 50-100 tHM/a is ready to operate now. A larger commercial reprocessing plant and a MOX fabrication plant are expected to be in commission around the year 2020. Also, the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR), capable of producing 25 MWe of power, will be operating soon. Furthermore, larger commercial FBRs are planned to be commissioned around2030-2035. This paper will first discuss the status of China’s nuclear power reactors, breeders, and civilian reprocessingprograms. In addition, this paper will examine whether the breedersand civilian reprocessing programs make sense for China, taking into account costs, proliferation risks, energysecurity tradeoffs, health and environmental risks, and spent fuel management issues.