
China’s losing its taste for nuclear power. That’s bad news - rbanffy
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612564/chinas-losing-its-taste-for-nuclear-power-thats-bad-news/
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spenrose
"Officially China still sees nuclear power as a must-have. But unofficially,
the technology is on a death watch. Experts, including some with links to the
government, see China’s nuclear sector succumbing to the same problems
affecting the West: the technology is too expensive, and the public doesn’t
want it.

The 2011 meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant shocked Chinese officials
and made a strong impression on many Chinese citizens. A government survey in
August 2017 found that only 40% of the public supported nuclear power
development.

The bigger problem is financial. Reactors built with extra safety features and
more robust cooling systems to avoid a Fukushima-like disaster are expensive,
while the costs of wind and solar power continue to plummet: they are now 20%
cheaper than electricity from new nuclear plants in China, according to
Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Moreover, high construction costs make nuclear a
risky investment."

