Nuclear Reactors 392 - Chinese Plans For Floating Nuclear Power Stations
I have blogged before about the Russian ambition to build floating nuclear power plants. The first Russian floating power station is called the Academician Lomonosov. It is scheduled to be completed in 2018 but has suffered repeated delays to date. No buyers have been announced for these new Russian power plants. These plants could be towed to places where power is needed but difficult to get from the grid like oil platforms at sea. They would also be useful for supplying remote costal communities.
China also has ambitions to build such plants. It was announced in 2014 that China and Russia had signed a contract to build floating nuclear power stations based on Russian nuclear technology. However, two Chinese companies have announced that they are working on such nuclear power stations. It is unclear what relationship their project has to the previous Chinese project with the Russians.
The China General Nuclear Power Group (CGHPG) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) are government owned companies involved in nuclear technology. They intended to develop the new floating nuclear power plants with domestic nuclear technology. China has a lot of oil platforms in the South China Sea which could benefit from such floating power sources. Chinese media has reported that there are plans to deploy at least twenty of these floating reactors to the South China Sea to support oil drilling. However, neither the CGHPG nor the CNNC have made any mention of the South China Sea with respect to the new floating power plants they are working on.
One serious problem for China with respect to its plans to deploy floating nuclear power platforms to the South China Sea is the fact that there are major international tensions there. Six different nations including China are all making claims to overlapping portions of the South China Sea.
China's claim to a large section of the Sea have been challenged before a U.N. arbitration board by the Philippines based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The board ruled on July 12, 2016 in favor of the Philippines. Unfortunately, China announced before the ruling that they denied that the U.N. board had the power to rule on their territorial claim.
China has been building artificial islands in the Sea and threatening to deploy nuclear armed submarines on regular patrols there. The U.S. has been sailing U.S. naval vessels around the area as a response to China's aggressive statements and actions. The Straits of Mallorca are a major international shipping corridor in the area. Chinese control of the Straits could interfere with international commerce.
Introducing floating nuclear power platforms into the South China Sea could be a recipe for disaster. If the platforms were sabotaged, deliberately targeted or accidentally hit during a conflict, the release of nuclear materials into the atmosphere and ocean would be extremely dangerous to the ecosystem and the people living in the area.
China is intent on developing its own energy sources including oil, gas and nuclear power plants that do not depend on foreign resources and technologies. The South China Sea might not be the best place these days to advance that agenda.
Russian Academician Lomosov:
