Nuclear Energy The long Term Remedy for China's Imminent Power Crisis

Cecile Imbert

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Coe, Richard

Keywords

Ecomomics, Nuclear Energy, China

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

China is the world's most populous country with a growing economy undergoing major structural changes. Its energy needs in have been increasing drastically, so much so that they are now surpassing its indigenous supply capacities. In order to sustain its economic growth, China has been increasingly gaining significant influence on the international scene by opening its doors to international trade and foreign capitalization. Local and international specialists are now trying to find the best possible energy mix for China to develop in order to successfully meet its energy demand while limiting local and global negative externalities from it. This study demonstrates that nuclear energy in China needs to occupy a much larger share in China's future energy mix. A careful study of the country's main macroeconomic indicators shows that China has a strong economy whose growth is likely to continue over the next fifteen years. Therefore, China is now in a position to afford the necessary infrastructure for diversifying and increasing its energy output. Then, this study focuses on China's different energy sectors. It reveals that while coal and oil are being extensively used, cleaner energy sources such as natural gas, renewable, and nuclear significantly lag behind in development. It also highlights that many important projects are under construction in all energy sectors. However, these Governmental efforts still remain insufficient in the electricity industry where power shortages and pollution from coal-fired plants are of pressing concerns. Lastly, this study discusses the main reasons why nuclear generation offers many advantages over coal generation in the electricity industry. In particular, not only does nuclear energy successfully address China's energy security concerns but it is cleaner, safer, and cheaper than any energy derived from coal. Overall, this study concludes that the Chinese Government could revise upward its goal of quadrupling its nuclear power capacity by 2020.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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