Study On The External Cost Of Nuclear Power And Coal Power In China

Coal is main energy source in China and the environmental pressures from coal combustion become important restricted factors in sustainable development. To reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, it need develop some other large-scaled energy source to substitute the conventional fossil fuels and developing nuclear power is one practical and feasible approach. In another hand, it become the bottle-neck issue in sustainable development that economy development and environment protection being not organically combined, which key reason is lack of the fusion of environment cost and the traditional economic value system. Under such background, the external cost of coal power and nuclear power in China were preliminarily studied.Appling Impact Pathway Analysis (IPA) approach, the accounting framework of externalities of nuclear power and coal power were established, main steps: (1) Description of the energy chain and defining the boundaries of the analysis; (2) Identification and quantification of the environmental burdens; (3) Prioritization and quantification of the impacts; (4) Economic valuation and the aggregated externalities.Externalities of coal power chain and nuclear power chain are 3.80×10-1 and 3.31×10-3 Yuan/kWh. Comparison of coal and nuclear power: (1) Coal power chain emit large quantity of chemical pollutants and nuclear power chain indirectly emit little non-radiation pollutants due to other energy consumption. Normalized emissions of atmospheric pollutants from coal power chain are 1~2 orders of magnitudes higher than that from nuclear power chain. (2) Nuclear power chain discharge little radioactive gaseous and liquid effluent to the environment and little solid waste are disposed closely. While coal power chain transfer the natural radionuclide in coal into environment during coal combustion. Radiological health impacts of coal power chain are 43 times higher than that of nuclear power chain. (3) Externalities of coal power chain are 115 times higher than that of nuclear power chain.Comparison with foreign studies: (1) The same conclusions: nuclear power is clean and coal power causes serious environment impacts. (2) The externalities component proportion of coal power chain in China is obviously different from that of advanced countries. (3) Externalities of coal power are 100 times higher more than that of nuclear power in China, and this ratio is much higher than in advanced countries. (4) High consumption of coal and low efficiency of environmental protection facilities are major direct reasons for the high external cost of coal power.According to the environmental protection standards, waste disposal and measures against accidents, nuclear power is environment-friendly energy. Through external cost found the existent challenges: (1) The essential reason of environmental problems is coal-based energy consumption structure, and coal power is the core issue. (2) Cognition of the environment values, especially the values of human health and life, is insufficient. (3) Price mechanism is unreasonable.Suggestions for energy sustainable development: (1) Save energy and improve energy utilization efficiency. (2) Adjust and optimize energy structure. (3) Change the way of energy utilization. (4) Implement environment-friendly energy strategy.