The former head of China’s National Energy Administration said the rapid pace of new reactor construction in China will likely slow in coming years, although he emphasized the country’s growth would not be served by a drastic change in nuclear policy.On Wednesday the China Daily newspaper, which almost always reflects the stance of the ruling Communist Party, also quoted Zhang Guobao as saying nuclear power remains imperative to the county’s goal to replace 15 percent of its fossil generation by 2020. A construction slowdown has already occurred as nuclear projects have been halted for inspections following the Fukushima Daiichi crisis in Japan. But in a speech before the China Nuclear Energy Association, Zhang said the country’s nuclear industry should take advantage of the slowdown to improve manufacturing capacity and research: "We should take this crisis as an opportunity to catch up as the world's leading nuclear power country."Chinese construction accounts for 42 percent of new nuclear build worldwide, China Daily reported, with 27 units under construction totaling 30 gigawatts of capacity. On March 16, shortly after the Fukushima crisis, the Chinese government suspended project approvals, halted preliminary work on proposed reactors and ordered inspections of all nuclear plants in operation or under construction. Those inspections were completed in early August, but the government has not yet released the results.Zhang, who is now a politician, also predicted the country will have 42 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity by 2015. That amounts to 3 percent of the forecast 2015 power capacity in China.
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