Early Research On China’s Nuclear Power Industry

The history of nuclear power development is an important component of China’s industrial history.China’s nuclear power industry has roughly gone through four different stages:initial development(1978-1991),moderate development(1992-2005),active and rapid development(2006-2011),and safe and efficient development(2011 present).In the early stages of the development of nuclear power in China,the debate among relevant departments on important issues such as technology routes,introduction methods,and centralized departments almost never stopped.Important projects were launched and dismantled several times,which had a profound impact on the start and subsequent development of nuclear power.On the basis of summarizing various literature from far and near,this article systematically reviews the policy evolution process of China’s nuclear power in its initial stage,analyzes the origin and resolution of various disputes,and summarizes the political and historical reasons for China’s nuclear power development model of parallel independent research and development and technology introduction.This article takes the evolution of nuclear power policy as the bright line,and the launch and cancellation of the Sunan Nuclear Power Plant as the dark line.It divides the initial stage of China’s nuclear power into three stages:1.Going against the trend:the brewing of nuclear power policy(1978-1982),with the independent research and development route led by the Ministry of Nuclear Power and the complete introduction route led by the Ministry of Water and Electricity,parallel to the"whether to engage in nuclear power","LWR or HWR",the "size competition" of single unit capacity,The dispute over "independent research and development" and"introduction" of the technological route has caused decision-making hesitation,causing the two major nuclear power projects,the "728" project and the Sunan nuclear power plant,to be in place.2.Official start:the establishment of technical policies for nuclear power development and the improvement of the leadership system(1983-1985).The Huilongguan Conference held in early 1983 determined that the nuclear power reactor type is mainly pressurized water reactor,and the single unit million kilowatt units are mainly developed.Through the combination of technology and trade,cooperative production and domestic scientific research,a series of general plans and technical routes related to nuclear power development such as the introduction of advanced technology are mastered.The second launch of the Sunan Nuclear Power Plant and the establishment of the State Council Nuclear Power Leading Group marked the beginning of China’s nuclear power on the right track.3.Adjustment and contraction:From "vigorous development" to "moderate development"(1986-1991)In early 1986,the Sunan Nuclear Power Plant was taken down for the second time,and the nuclear power policy was then"twisted":the centralized department of nuclear power shifted from energy export to military industry export,the single unit capacity changed from 900000 kilowatts to 600000 kilowatts,and the technological route changed from "technology and trade integration" to "domestic based",deeply affecting the development direction of nuclear power in China.In the initial stage of nuclear power,China has built the first independently designed nuclear power plant(Qinshan Phase Ⅰ)in the mainland and the first large-scale commercial pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant(Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant)introduced from abroad,accumulating valuable experience in internal construction and external exchange.At the same time,the nuclear power publicity work centered on the People’s Daily timely and accurately conveyed nuclear power knowledge and various argumentative opinions on the development of nuclear power to the public,creating important public opinion for the smooth start of the nuclear power industry.This article summarizes three reasons for the "early start and slow progress" of nuclear power in China:firstly,there is no unified internal understanding:there were disagreements at the beginning about "whether to engage in nuclear power" and "how to engage in nuclear power",and then there were debates on the starting route of nuclear power.The debate about "whether nuclear power belongs to nuclear power or to electricity" runs through the initial stage,objectively causing decision-making delays;Secondly,there was a lack of a unified technical route and mature management system in the early stage:before the establishment of the technical route in 1983 and the establishment of the State Council Nuclear Power Leading Group,there was a lack of a unified guidance route for the development of nuclear power technology in China,and there was also a lack of a coordinated leadership and organization above the Ministry of Water and Electricity and the Ministry of Second Machinery,resulting in conflicting work directions and duplication of workload;Third,restrictions of objective factors such as capital and technology:China’s foreign exchange reserves are not sufficient at the initial stage of nuclear power.As a highly capital intensive industry,the introduction of complete sets of nuclear power itself is relatively expensive,and later construction,operation and maintenance are also costly.Objectively,it is a burden that restricts the development of nuclear power in China.This study suggests that China’s nuclear power management system has its own uniqueness.At the beginning of its development,China’s nuclear power industry was charged with the dual mission of revitalizing the nuclear industry in the dilemma of military to civilian conversion and solving the power shortage problem in East China,so it was inevitably restricted by various practical factors in the development process.The "detour" of nuclear power policy in 1986 seems to be sudden,but it contains historical inevitability.Its subsequent impact needs to be viewed dialectically.On the one hand,it has made great contributions to stabilizing the nuclear industry team,which is beneficial to the long-term development of China’s nuclear industry;On the other hand,this’ turn "has sacrificed the interests of the nuclear power industry,to the extent that the goal of localization ’,’ standardization ’,and ’ unification ’has not been achieved for a long time.