Friday, March 18, 2011

Japan Nuclear Fallout in South Asia and the World

Japan has suffered a massive human tragedy caused by a major 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed. Within days of its occurrence, the natural catastrophe has now been completely overshadowed by growing fears of total meltdown at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole world from California to Pakistan is watching these ominous developments and fearing the worst.

Lacking any oil and gas reserves of its own, the energy-hungry Japan relies heavily on nuclear energy. The nation currently has 55 nuclear plants and 14 more are being planned or built, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's the third largest producer of nuclear energy behind the United States and France, according to Bloomberg News.



South Asian nations of India and Pakistan are looking to ramp up nuclear power production to deal with their chronic energy shortages and to meet growing electricity needs. India has 20 existing nuclear power plants and planning or building 23 more. Pakistan has 2 atomic power plants and currently building or planning 3 more. With 20 atomic reactor plants currently in operation, China is in the midst of a huge ramp with 77 more plants in various stages of planning and construction.

The world's nuclear plant designers, builders and operators have their anxious eyes on Japan to understand the full extent of the problems at Fukushima, and the evolving public reaction to the unfolding events. What do we know so far about it? It appears that the 40-year-old Fukushima plant stood up to the country’s worst earthquake on record March 11 only to have its power and back-up generators knocked out by the 7-meter tsunami that followed. Back-up diesel generators that might have kept the core cool, and averted the disaster were positioned in a basement, where they were inundated by waves and rendered useless.

In addition to the loss of backup power for cooling the core, the other major issue highlighted by the Fukushima disaster is the spent fuel storage. Like Japan, the US stores spent fuel rods on site densely packed in pools at the reactors. It is these spent fuel rods that have lost water and caused a fire from hydrogen explosions in one of the reactors, and released radiations into the atmosphere.

A number of countries, including China, France, Germany and Russia, have suspended the approval process for new nuclear plants and ordered a review of the existing plants since the Japanese nuclear power crisis began. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India has asked for a full safety audit of India's 20 operating nuclear reactors, but India's atomic energy chief Srikumar Banerjee insists that India's plants are "100% safe", according to media reports. Similarly, a statement issued by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission says that their plants’ safety had been assessed by experts from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) over the years....apparently meaning that they are no safer than the Japanese plants built in the 1970s that had similar audits and approval.

The recent Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion in West Virginia and the Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico tell us that there is no such thing as 100% safe when it comes to producing energy. However, the current nuclear radiation crisis in Japan has the strong potential to reshape the energy debate which was just beginning to favor nuclear energy as green and safe. Let's hope that the outcome forces us to carefully balance safety concerns with the energy needs of growing population amidst shrinking hydrocarbon resources and climate change concerns.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Can Thorium Energy Save Planet Earth?

Pakistan Launches Wind Power Projects

Renewable Energy to Solve Pakistan's Electricity Crisis

India's Growing Population and Depleting Resources

Wind Turbine Manufacturing in Pakistan

Pakistan Pursues Hydroelectric Power Projects

Solar Energy for Sunny Pakistan

Wind Power Tariffs in Pakistan

Pakistan's Twin Energy Shortages

Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technology

Electrification Rates By Country

Renewable Energy for Pakistan

Abundant Cheap Electricity From Pakistani Coal

Pakistan Policy on Renewable Technology

Sugarcane Ethanol Project in Pakistan

Community Based Renewable Energy Project in Pakistan

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

nuclear power is an unnecessarily complicated way to boil water.

It is a very dangerous source of power which produces deadly radioactive waste which lasts for 100,000 years plus.

In addition the feedstock i.e Uranium is pretty hard to find in India and is dominated internationally by anglo countries Australia,Canada etc thus making India susceptible to future blackmail.

It is a BAD idea.You cannot have a 100% safe malfunction free machinery in ANY industry nuclear power is no exception.

Also the high population densities in India almost ensure a bhopal gas tragedy type loss of life in the event of a meltdown.

Mayraj said...

Really scary. I do not understand how they could take these risks being an earthquake and tsunami prone country?
On top of that they have a history of nuke plant coverups and problems. The regulators were in coma it seems!

Riaz Haq said...

Mayraj:

California's two nuclear plants are also close to a fault near the ocean. They were both built in the 1970s and probably the same GE design as Fukushima.

Here's a report by Press Enterprise:

Tens of thousands of uranium-laden spent fuel rods, like those at risk of meltdown in Japan, have piled up at Southern California's San Onofre nuclear power plant and other U.S. facilities as government leaders haggle over a solution for long-term storage of the radioactive waste, experts say.

Despite operators' assurances that the plants are built to withstand more than the worst-case threat posed by earthquakes and tsunamis, nuclear researchers contend that a disaster like that unfolding at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant could happen here.

"The meltdown occurring at Japanese reactors can happen. ... San Onofre is near (earthquake) faults that could trigger such an event," or the plant could be breached by an equipment malfunction or terrorism, said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and a member of the nonprofit Committee to Bridge the Gap, a Sherman Oaks-based nuclear watchdog group.

"The risk is not trivial," he said.

Hirsch is among those critical of continued nuclear power generation in the United States when the country has no permanent storage solution for the waste, which takes millions of years to lose potency.

At U.S. nuclear plants, spent fuel rods are cycled out of reactors every 18 months or so and placed in deep pools of circulating water to cool. The process takes seven years or more. As the pools reach capacity, the rods are moved to dry-cask storage on site, since there is no national repository.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has estimated that spent-fuel pools in the United States will run out of capacity in 2015.

Riaz Haq said...

No unlike nuclear, the conventional fossil fuels are a dangerous business.

There were 29 deaths in a West Virginia coalmine last year. 26 more died in a Chinese coal mine in Henan province in 2010.

Today, there are reports of 21 deaths in a Pakistani coalmine, according to the BBC:

A series of methane gas explosions at a mine in Pakistan's Balochistan province have killed at least 21 workers, officials say.

Rescue workers are trying to reach about 30 other miners who are trapped.

An official told the BBC that hopes of rescuing the survivors were fading because of a lack of oxygen.

The mine, near the provincial capital, Quetta, was declared dangerous two weeks ago but those warnings were ignored, reports said.

Balochistan is rich in minerals but its mines have a poor safety record.

"We are trying our best to rescue as many workers as we can, but the chance of finding survivors is bleak now," mine inspector Iftikhar Ahmed told the Associated Press news agency.

The mine in the remote Sorange district is owned by the state-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, but it was leased to a contractor, officials said.

Action will be taken against those responsible for ignoring warnings to stop mining, they said.

Riaz Haq said...

Here's State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) assessment of the effect of Arab revolt and Japan quake-tsunami on Pakistan's economy:

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Saturday that the global trade shock due to the conflict in Arab world and earthquake and tsunami in Japan remained beneficial for the country’s economy.

In its Monetary Policy Statement for the next two months, SBP said that the scenario helped the country to fetch better export price in international markets.

SBP said that there remains growing uncertainty in the global economic environment. The popular uprising in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and unprecedented damage to the Japanese economy because of an historic earthquake and tsunami have shaken the global economy, which has yet to fully recover from the repercussions of the financial and economic crisis of advanced economies, it said.

One consequence of these developments has been high international commodity prices, especially of oil, it added.

“So far, the terms of trade shock have been favorable for Pakistan’s economy. More than 90 percent of the incremental increase in export earnings during July ñ February, FY11 over the corresponding period of last year has been due to high international prices of Pakistan’s exports.”

SBP said that the contribution of high import prices, particularly of oil, to the import bill has been relatively low, but is substantial and rising.

SBP further said that the turmoil in the Arab region may also influence the flow of remittances to Pakistan. “However, assuming that the inflow of remittances continue its current trend for the remaining months of FY11, there are no immediate risks to the external current account balance,” SBP added.

The financial account inflows such as foreign direct investment and portfolio investments have remained fairly modest during July ñ February FY11, almost half the level of inflows seen in the corresponding period of the last year, which was also small compared to historical levels.

SBP said that the overall balance of payment position appears to be strong at the moment with a gradual build-up of foreign exchange reserves and a stable foreign exchange market. “However, given the uncertainty with respect to foreign inflows, the developments in the external sector will need to be monitored closely in the coming months.”

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a BBC report on South Asia's reaction to nuclear crisis at Fukushima, Japan:

The nuclear disaster in Japan has prompted several countries to slow down and even suspend some of their nuclear programmes.

But South Asia - a region that hosts two rival states with nuclear weapons - has made no such move.

No nuclear plants in the region have been shut down nor are any expected to be suspended in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.

Instead, the Bangladeshi government announced on Tuesday that it would go ahead with its earlier plan to build a nuclear power plant with the help of Russia.

The Pakistani government has chosen to remain quiet although all three of its nuclear plants are said to face risks from earthquakes or tsunamis.

Major regional player India has announced a review of safety systems in its nuclear power plants but many believe there are no indications for a shift in its pro-nuclear policy.

"India's Department of Atomic Energy and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India will try to reassure the people of India that they are far more superior than everybody else in the world and this kind of accident would never happen in Indian facilities," read a statement by the National Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movements, a civil campaign in India.

It also accused the authorities of admitting that one of the reactors in south India was built without factoring in the risks from tsunamis.
'No alarm'

Another activist group, the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace said: "The (Fukushima) incident calls for a thorough review and transparent audit of the safety performance of all nuclear reactors in India, as well as of evacuation and other emergency procedures, which are known to be flawed."

In Pakistan also, few civil societies have raised the alarm.

"The aged Karachi nuclear plant on the coast is as much susceptible with as much serious consequence [as nuclear plants in] Japan because of the proximity of a dense population," said the Pakistan Peace Coalition in its statement.

"The two reactors in Chashma are known to be sitting on a number of criss-crossing tectonic plates."

Pakistan's leading newspaper, The Dawn, wrote in its editorial: "The government needs to reassure the people that natural disaster contingencies are in place at the nuclear units."

Riaz Haq said...

US Energy Secretary Chu believes solar and wind will be competitive with energy from fossil fuels without subsidies by 2020. Here's a report:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled initiatives aiming to make solar power as cheap as fossil fuels, and stimulate 10 GW of offshore wind development, in the next decade.

The DOE said the solar initiative, dubbed as a “sun shot” by energy secretary Steven Chu – in reference to John F. Kennedy’s “moon shot” goal of landing a man on the moon in the 1960s – would reduce the cost of solar power by 75 percent.

Chu said that would put the price of installed solar power at about $1 per watt, or about six cents per kWh, and allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.

“That would make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy without subsidies of any kind,” Chu said, according to Reuters.

The initiative includes $27 million awarded to nine projects to support the development, manufacturing and commercialization of solar energy technologies.

The DOE and Department of the Interior yesterday also announced up to $50.5 million for projects that support offshore wind energy development, and identified several high-priority Wind Energy Areas (pdf) in the mid-Atlantic.

The areas are offshore of Delaware (122 square nautical miles), Maryland (207), New Jersey (417), and Virginia (165), and will receive streamlined reviews to lessen the time for project approval and leasing, the DOE said.

The Department of the Interior said it could offer leases in these areas as early as the end of 2011.

The Interior said it hopes to identify Wind Energy Areas off of north Atlantic states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in March. The department said it will carry out a similar process for the south Atlantic region, especially North Carolina, this spring.

The $50.5 million, spread over five years, is aimed at developing breakthrough offshore wind technology and removing market barriers.

The departments also published a joint plan called the National Offshore Wind Strategy (pdf). The plan calls for deploying 10 GW of offshore wind by 2020 and 54 GW by 2030, with development in both oceans, the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes.

The plan focuses on three key challenges to offshore wind: the high cost, technical challenges, and lack of site data and expertise with permitting processes.

Riaz Haq said...

No source of energy is without risks, including wind. Here's an excerpt from a San Francisco Chronicle report:

The long hot summers of the San Joaquin Valley suck great tsunamis of cool coastal air through the Altamont Pass, producing winds so powerful that a person can lean nearly 45 degrees without falling down.

Such awesome force gave birth in the early 1980s to the world's largest collection of wind turbines, pioneers in what is now America's fastest-growing form of renewable energy and an increasingly important weapon in the battle against global warming.

But the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area is also a symbol of the wind industry's biggest stain - the killings of thousands of birds, including majestic golden eagles, by turbines. The result has been a wrenching civil war among those who are otherwise united in the struggle to save the planet and its creatures.

It's been nearly a year since a controversial legal settlement was forged among wildlife groups, wind companies and Alameda County regulators. That agreement, opposed by some parties to the dispute, promised to reduce deaths of golden eagles and three other raptor species by 50 percent in three years and called for the shutdown or relocation of the 300 or so most lethal of the approximately 5,000 windmills at Altamont.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan's Chashma nuclear plant unit#2 is now online, according to SANA news:

ISLAMABAD, (SANA): Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Two (CHASNUPP-II) has started power generation on trial basis.

The work on 325-MW power plant was initiated in April 2005 and has been completed ahead of schedule with the cooperation of China.

According to official sources, the plant would formally be inaugurated soon with the addition of 300-MW electricity to the national grid would help meet power shortage and increase economic activity in the country.

Riaz Haq said...

Here are some excepts from BBC's Soutik Biswas on anti-nuke protests at Jaitapur in India:

...By all accounts, the violence was allegedly instigated by a right-wing regional party which is struggling to regain lost political ground in the Konkan coastal area where Jaitapur is located. The upshot of such cynical politics: one 'protestor' dead when police fired on irate villagers, at least 20 wounded, a hospital damaged and passenger buses gutted by the mob.
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This is tragic because there are much more significant and vexing issues at stake in Jaitapur. After the disastrous tsunami-induced meltdown in Fukushima, Japan, should India reconsider its push towards nuclear energy? (With the landmark nuclear deal with the US under its belt, India can now import reactors and nuclear fuel.) Will acquiring large tracts of land for nuclear power stations again set the government on a collision course with sections of the unwilling - and sometimes uninformed - farmers?
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Critics like Praful Bidwai believe that India's nuclear energy drive will sound the death knell of precious ecosystems - six 1,650 megawatt reactors will be built at Jaitapur on the west coast, it is planned, in what would turn out to be the world's largest 'nuclear park'. They say the government has forcibly acquired farmland using a colonial law to build the plant. Mr Bidwai, who visited Jaitapur, writes that the nuclear plant will be situated on fertile farmland, not barren wastelands as the government would have people believe. Then there is the threat the plant poses to thriving fisheries. Officials say no local will be displaced from his land, although more than 2,000 people have had to sell parts of their land. So are the protests about better compensation for land, and guarantees about safety?

Most scientists I spoke to dismiss a lot of what the campaigners say, insisting that nuclear power is really the only option India is left with to meet its growing energy needs. An astonishing 400 million Indians continue to live in the dark, without electricity. "You have to choose the lesser evil - more carbon dioxide or the threat of radiation," one told me. Smoke-belching thermal power plants use the atmosphere as a "sewer" and impact climate change. Solar and wind energy cannot meet India's energy demands, they say. Ergo, nuclear power, they say, is the only sensible and clean option. That is why India is planning to set up some 30 reactors over as many years and get a quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy by 2050.

Scientists agree the government has to tread carefully in building consensus at the grassroots and while acquiring farmland to set up the nuclear plants - there is no room for forcible acquisition of land at unremunerative prices.

Then there is this shrill debate over the safety of the plant. Critics point out that the French-built reactor meant for Jaitapur has still not been approved by nuclear regulators worldwide. They say that the site is seismically hazardous - the area was apparently hit by 95 earthquakes between 1985 and 2005 - and since it will be built on the coast will be prone to tsunamis.

Scientists dismiss these arguments as naive and ill-informed. India, they say, will not buy these third generation reactors until international and local regulators clear them. India's nuclear regulators say that Jaitapur is in a "significantly low seismic zone" compared with Japan and Fukushima. Also, the reactors will be built on a cliff 82ft (25m) above the mean sea level. With its 20 reactors, India, scientists insist, has a good safety record. (There was a turbine room fire at a plant in 1993, and a sodium leak in another in 2000). "There have been no serious incidents. There has been no radiation leak. Our record is clean," one official said....

Riaz Haq said...

Here are excerpts of a Nation Op Ed on Seoul Nuclear Security Summit:

Experts are of the opinion that modest progress had been made in Seoul and many of the tough issues to fully solve the problem were addressed because the participants were unwilling to make binding and transparent agreements. “The current nuclear material security regime is a patchwork of unaccountable voluntary arrangements that are inconsistent across borders…….Consistent standards, transparency to promote international confidence, and national accountability are additions to the regime that are urgently needed,” said Luongo.

The communiqué also omitted a reference to the need for “concrete steps” towards a world without nuclear weapons, a phrase which had been included in an earlier draft statement. A Seoul government official told the media (on condition of anonymity) that some nations had been uncomfortable about expanding the scope of the summit into nuclear weapons reduction and disarmament, and the call for concrete steps.

The Republic of Korea has done a commendable job in steering the conference in a prudent way. One of its striking features is that the conference agenda was kept away from multilateral politics and a consensual approach was adopted. The summit succeeded in creating a shared space for discussion and coordination.

Pakistan has keenly participated in the nuclear security summits. This indicates its continuity of resolve and abiding commitment to the cause. Since the Washington Summit, Pakistan has set up centres of excellence for training and emergency response mechanisms; upgraded physical protection arrangements; and revised export control lists. Following the Fukushima accident, it has conducted thorough stress tests of its nuclear power plants and is in the process of deploying Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) portals on key entry and exit points to prevent illicit trafficking of radioactive materials.

Pakistan is fully committed to continue working at the national level to maintain the highest standards of nuclear security and cooperate with the international community for achieving a secure and peaceful world.


http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/02-Apr-2012/seoul-summit-2012

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a Daily Times report on seismic monitoring in Pakistan:

KARACHI: The project to install new broadband seismic stations equipped with advance technology that was initiated following the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake to strengthen seismic monitoring system, has completed.
Pakistan Meteorology Department (PMD) has planned to officially inaugurate these stations on May 16, 2013 in Islamabad. The existing ten broadband seismic stations are British technology and the new stations are based on Chinese technology.
Under the project, ten new broadband seismic stations were installed, bringing the total number to 20 in Pakistan. These new seismic stations, installed in Skardu, Charath, Tarbela, Islamabad, Salt Range Punjab, Fort Munro, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore and Nangarparkar, have been integrated with the existing seismic network of the PMD. The project aims at better monitoring of earthquakes and precise earthquake hazard assessment.
On October 8, 2005 an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck northern Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, killing around 73,000 people and displacing 3.5million in its wake. Followed by the earthquake, when nations around the world were helping financially and were sending relief goods, China promised to strengthen the seismic monitoring system in Pakistan. Pak-China Seismograph Network was initiated and implemented by China Earthquake Network Centre (CENC) and China Earthquake Administration (CEA) to fulfil the promise.
Additionally, state of the art and advanced Very Broad Band (VBB) sensor has also been installed in PMD’s station located in Margla Hills, Islamabad, thus making Pakistan the only South Asian country in possession of this technology.
“This project is a great achievement and now Pakistan has 20 broadband stations, all connected via satellite,” said PMD Seismology Division Islamabad Director Zahid Rafi.
Most of these new broadband stations are installed either in northern areas or in Punjab, however, the coastline of Sindh and Balochistan was not considered in the project.
Pakistan has witnessed several tsunamigenic earthquakes in the past along the coast of the Arabian Sea in Sindh and Balochistan. Several experts forecast destructive tsunamis on these coastlines in the future due to the presence of Makran Subduction Zone or MSZ as the potential source in the region.
Despite these warnings, the Pakistani government has never considered installing the broadband seismometers on the coastal belt.
The PMD official data reveals that out of the existing ten broadband stations only two were installed on Sindh and Balochistan’s coasts; one in Turbat and another in Karachi. However, experts are of the view that due to the presence of MSZ these areas need more broadband stations.


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\04\06\story_6-4-2013_pg12_3

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a WSJ story on Pakistan buying two more nuclear reactors from China:

Pakistan is acquiring two large nuclear power reactors from longtime ally China, officials said, in a $9.1 billion deal that has raised concern in Washington that Beijing is overstepping international rules on transferring nuclear technology.

For Islamabad, the pact with China counters the nuclear energy accord New Delhi signed with the U.S. under then-President George W. Bush. Pakistan regards that arrangement as providing India with an unfair potential strategic advantage for nuclear weapons. Both countries possess a nuclear arsenal.

There is unease in the U.S. and elsewhere over the security of sensitive facilities in Pakistan, where Islamist militants have shown they can attack even the most heavily guarded installations, analysts said. There is also concern the Chinese are willing to circumvent rules locking out countries from nuclear trade if, like Pakistan, they aren't part of to the nonproliferation treaty.

Pakistani officials haven't talked publicly about this latest agreement, which was quietly signed around midyear and closed in early July.
---
The reactors covered by the deal would be technologically advanced and built outside the main port city of Karachi. They each would provide 1,000 megawatts of electricity, a big boost for power-starved Pakistan. "Every country has this. We are also entitled," the senior official said. "We have to focus on adding cheaper energy supply."

China would deliver the first reactor in 70 to 80 months, with the second coming 10 months later. Nuclear reactors take several years to build. They would be installed on the Karachi coast close to a small existing reactor, the senior Pakistani official said. The Chinese will provide 82% of the financing through a loan on what another Pakistani official described as very soft terms.
------------

With the 2005 U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement India, which also isn't part of the nonproliferation treaty, won an NSG exemption to buy nuclear power technology. But legal complications have subsequently stalled the anticipated sale of American nuclear plants to India. These obstacles include the liability for compensation for accidents that now exists under Indian law, following the deadly 1984 accident at a chemical plant owned by Union Carbide, a U.S. company, in the Indian city of Bhopal. But Pakistan has objected to the pact.

Still, Pakistan, which is in a nuclear arms race with India says that accord was discriminatory. "The U.S.-India nuclear deal was very disturbing for the strategic stability of this region," said Sarwar Naqvi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the IAEA. "It put Pakistan at a disadvantage. It freed Indian uranium to be diverted to their military program."

Carnegie Endowment's Mr. Hibbs said that the design of the new 1,000-megawatt reactors that Pakistan will receive is untested, even in China. He added that the price tag doesn't suggest that Islamabad is getting any "bargain." There wasn't competitive bidding on the project.

-----
As part of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Prime Minister Sharif called for Pakistan to be allowed to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group. "Pakistan qualifies for full access to civil nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, to meet its growing energy needs," Mr. Sharif said.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304561004579137420511807840.html

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an Energy Business Review report on Chashma 3 and 4 nuclear power plants progress:

China's State Nuclear Power Technology Company (SNPTC) has installed the containment dome atop of the containment building of the unit 4 of the Chashma Nuclear Power Complex (CHASNUPP), located near Chashma city, Punjab, Pakistan.

The installation of dome, which weighs 185t, and measures 36m in diameter, and 9m in height, 72 days ahead of schedule, represents a significant milestone in the construction of the second of two reactors being constructed by Chinese companies in the country, World Nuclear News reports.

The general contractor for the third and fourth 340MWe pressurized water reactors (PWRs) is China Zhongyuan Engineering, while the reactor design was provided by the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering and Research Design Institute.

CHASNUPP's first and second 300MWe PWRs were also supplied by China.

Construction of units 3 and 4 commenced in May and December 2011, respectively, and the units are scheduled to start commercial operation in December 2016 and October 2017.


http://www.energy-business-review.com/news/chashma-nuclear-power-complex-unit4s-construction-moves-ahead-100114-4158128

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a Wall Street Journal story on Pakistan in talks to acquire 3 more large nuclear power plants in addition to 2 recently announced for Karachi:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan is in talks with China to acquire three large nuclear power plants for some $13 billion, Pakistani officials said, in a further blow to international efforts to restrict the trade in nuclear technology.

The deal is in addition to last year's agreement to build two Chinese reactors in Pakistan's southern port of Karachi.

The agreement, if reached, would help plug the crippling gap in Pakistan's electricity supply and cement its strategic regional alliance with China, which is aimed against mutual rival India. Alarming Washington, the China-Pakistan nuclear trade bypasses international rules against nuclear exports to countries—like Pakistan—that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Negotiations are going on currently with China "for three more plants," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told his cabinet's meeting this month, according to those present.

The three Chinese reactors would likely be located in the center of the country, in Punjab province, at a site now being prepared, officials said. Two advanced 1,100-megawatt reactors from China are already due to be built near the southern port of Karachi, under a $9 billion agreement completed last year. Mr. Sharif led the groundbreaking ceremony for the Karachi reactors in November but the discussions about the additional plants have not been made public until now.
-------------

Mark Hibbs, an expert on nuclear issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an independent research organization based in Washington, said that the Nuclear Suppliers Group was "clearly in a crisis that has continued to escalate" as a result of the trade taking place with India and Pakistan. The rules of the group had no binding force, as it is a voluntary arrangement, he said.
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Pakistan produces between 12,000 MW and 14,000 MW of electricity, while demand is at least 18,000 MW, according to the ministry of power, causing hours of power outages every day across the country. Demand is set to rise sharply with the ballooning population.

Nuclear energy provides just 750 MW of power currently, through two Chinese-built 330 MW plants at Chashma, in Punjab province, and a tiny, aged, plant outside Karachi. China is currently building two more plants of the same size at Chashma, boosting nuclear output to 1,400 MW by 2016. The plan for the future is to acquire much larger 1,100 MW plants from China, including the two new reactors for Karachi.
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Ansar Parvez, chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, which builds and runs the country's nuclear power plants, said that the country's aim is to generate 8,800 MW of nuclear power by 2030.
------------
That target requires Pakistan to build six to seven large nuclear power plants, including the two already scheduled for Karachi. Each such plant costs $4 billion to $4.5 billion, said Mr. Parvez.

----
A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, defended the countries' nuclear cooperation in December, which she said was in accordance with the countries' international obligations.

"In the future, the Chinese side wishes to continue offering help to the best of its ability to resolve the electricity-shortage issue," Ms. Hua had said.


http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304757004579332460821261146?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304757004579332460821261146.html

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a News report on Pakistan's civilian nuclear efforts:

ISLAMABAD: Despite facing various kinds of embargoes to obtain nuclear equipment, Pakistan will continue to develop its civil nuclear capability in a bid to diversify its energy mix and overcome power crisis, an official said.

Pakistan’s nuclear installations are safe from terrorist attacks as the outer container installed at the nuclear power plants can save them in case of missile attack or even hitting an aero plane similar to that of 9/11 attack on the twin towers in the US.

“Pakistan’s situation is quite different from that of India, as the Nuclear Supply Group has not imposed restrictions on them and even Australia is providing them uranium. We are hopeful that embargoes imposed on us for getting uranium will be lifted down the line over the next five to 10 years,” Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Chairman Dr Ansar Parvez said, while briefing reporters on the occasion of media workshop organised by the PAEC on Saturday.
----------------

In the concluding daylong workshop, the PAEC chairman said that Pakistan is facing various kinds of embargoes but the government has given its indication that whatever would be possible it would be done to install 42,000MW through nuclear power plants till 2050.

The PAEC chairman said that he was quite optimistic that time will come down the line in the next five to 10 years after lifting of embargoes on Pakistan.
----------

To another question about the possibility of seeking civil nuclear cooperation from the US as it did in the case of India, Dr Parvez said that there is no commercial agreement signed between the US and India.

---

About the cost of nuclear power plants, he said that the nuclear energy plant costs around $4 million per megawatt that was not cheaper but in the long run, the energy generated through these plants costs cheaper as compared to other sources such as fuel and wind.

Despite all difficulties, Pakistan is continuing its nuclear energy programme with the help of China, he said, adding that three nuclear plants are already working in the country and two other are near completion.

Nuclear energy, he said, is important for Pakistan due to its sustainability and low generation cost. In the near future, PAEC is going to start building two more plants in Karachi with 2,200MW generation capacity, which are likely to be completed in 2021.

Dr Inam Ur Rehman, who is among the pioneers of the country’s nuclear programme, said that Pakistan developed the required human resource and now capable to run its programme without the help of anyone.

The scientists of the PAEC briefed about the safety measures and said that there is no safety issues with the nuclear plants in Pakistan and they are built keeping in view the extreme circumstances.

Pakistan, they said, is now using third generation nuclear equipment and that is 500 times safer as compared to the equipment installed in Fukushima and Chernobyl where nuclear accidents took place.

But, they said, that even in the case of Chernobyl and Fukushima no mass killing was observed.

Nuclear energy generation plants are not that dangerous at all, as they are perceived and all the international research reports deny that a mass killing took place after an accident in any nuclear energy generation plant.

There was no chance of leakage of radiation from these plants in any circumstances, they said.

The speakers also said that there are around 71 nuclear plants under-construction worldwide having almost 70,000 megawatts generation capacity.

All the modern and advanced countries were using nuclear power to meet their energy demands......


http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-229956-Pakistan-continues-to-develop-civil-nuclear-capability:-PAEC

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an Express Tribune report on Pakistan's participation in Nuclear Security Summit 2014 in The Hague:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appealed on Monday for international cooperation and assistance that will give his country access to nuclear technology for a civilian energy programme — the lynchpin of its strategy to overcome chronic energy shortages.
“Energy deficit is one of the most serious crises facing Pakistan,” PM Nawaz told delegates at the third Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. “As we revive our economy, we look forward to international cooperation and assistance for nuclear energy under IAEA safeguards,” he said.
Leaders from 53 countries, US, EU, International Atomic Energy Agency and Interpol are attending the nuclear summit.
The prime minister also called for Pakistan’s inclusion in all international export control regimes, especially the Nuclear Suppliers Group. International treaties and forums, according to him, should supplement national actions to fortify nuclear security.
At the same time he reiterated “the highest importance” that his country attached to nuclear security. because it was directly linked to the country’s national security.
“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear weapons state and pursues a policy of nuclear restraint, as well as credible minimum deterrence,” he said.
“Our region needs peace and stability for economic development that benefits its people. That is why, I strongly advocate nuclear restraint, balance in conventional forces and ways to resolve conflicts,” the prime minister said.
The prime minister paid tribute to US President Barack Obama for launching the nuclear security summit process four years ago. Pakistan has been running a safe, secure and safeguarded civil nuclear programme for more than 40 years and the country has the expertise, manpower and infrastructure to produce civil nuclear energy.
--------------
He said Pakistan’s nuclear materials, facilities and assets were safe and secure and the country’s nuclear security regime was anchored in the principle of multi-layered defence for the entire spectrum – insider, outsider or cyber threat.
Islamabad has established a centre of excellence that conducts intense specialised courses in nuclear security, physical protection and personnel reliability, he said, adding that Pakistan was ready to share its best practices and training facilities with other interested states in the region and beyond.
Dealing with radiological threats
He said his country had also deployed radiation detection mechanisms at several exit and entry points to prevent illicit trafficking of radioactive and nuclear materials.
Similarly, he said, all countries should continue to take measures to secure their nuclear facilities and materials and prevent any perceived nuclear terrorist threat. “We all need radioactive sources for hospitals, industry and research; but should be vigilant about radiological threats,” he added.


http://tribune.com.pk/story/686956/hague-summit-nawaz-makes-case-for-civil-nuclear-energy/

Riaz Haq said...

From India Today:

A Chinese official has confirmed that China is involved in as many as six nuclear power projects in Pakistan and is likely to export more reactors to the country, indicating that the much debated civilian nuclear cooperation between the two countries will go ahead despite concerns voiced that it is in contravention of Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) guidelines.

While China has in the past declined to confirm or share details regarding the extent of its on-going civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, a top official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the planning body, was quoted as saying on Saturday that Beijing has been involved in the construction of six reactors in Pakistan.

Wang Xiaotao, vice-minister of the NDRC, was quoted as saying by State media that the NDRC was keen to support further exports to Pakistan and other countries. To this end, the NDRC is drawing up new guidelines to announce supportive financial policies for exports in the nuclear sector. Railways exports would also be supported under the new guidelines, Wang said.

Announcing the guidelines at a Beijing press conference, Wang said that China "has assisted in building six nuclear reactors in Pakistan with a total installed capacity of 3.4 million kilowatts". China was also exporting nuclear technology to Argentina, with the two countries on Wednesday signing a deal for exporting heavy-water reactors.

China's recent projects with Pakistan have come under scrutiny as the NSG does not allow members to supply nuclear technology to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). India had to seek a waiver from the NSG for its civilian nuclear cooperation with the US, and obtained one only after undertaking a range of commitments.

China only declared the first two reactors it had constructed for Pakistan, Chashma-1 and Chashma-2, at the time of joining the NSG, according to Indian and American officials.

In 2009, the China National Nuclear Corporation signed agreements for two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4. The deals became a matter of controversy and were debated at the NSG, with China arguing that the reactors were "grandfathered" as part of its earlier Chashma agreement and were not new projects per se. China also argued that the deals were under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and were legitimate.

The two countries last year announced they would undertake a new project in Karachi, with Pakistani media reports saying China would provide $ 6.5 billion to finance two reactors there. At the time, Beijing declined to confirm those reports.

While the Chinese Foreign Ministry has, in the past, argued that China's cooperation with Pakistan "did not violate norms of the NSG", Beijing's main argument was that the Chashma reactors were part of an earlier deal. With China going ahead with building two new reactors in Karachi, it remains to be seen how Beijing will explain the deals' validity under NSG guidelines.



Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/china-pakistan-nuclear-projects-beijing-chashma-atomic-energy/1/417661.html

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan plans its first mega nuclear 2000 MW power plant - The Economic Times http://ecoti.in/N4OqxZ
Energy-starved Pakistan will set up a mega nuclear power plant with power generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts, the first in the country's history.

"It will be the first time in the history of the country that a mega nuclear power plant would be set up with power generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts," Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said today.

Iqbal said that Thar is enriched with natural coal deposits and the government is committed to utilising the res ..

"Super critical technology will be used in the coal power plant, which will be established with the financing of the Asian Development Bank in Jamshoro to ensure a safe environment," he was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan.

Pakistan faces about 5,000 MW energy shortages and the government has launched several projects to bridge the gap.

Riaz Haq said...

The rapidly populating coastal region from the Gulf to Pakistan faces a huge tsunami risk

That tsunamis can cause death and devastation has become painfully clear over the past two decades. On Boxing Day, 2004, a magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused waves several metres high to devastate the Indian Ocean – killing more than 230,000 people in 14 countries. In 2011, another magnitude 9 earthquake, this time off Japan, produced waves up to 20 metres in height, flooding the Fukushima nuclear reactor. It killed more than 15,000 people.

A new study, published in Geophysical Journal International, by my colleagues and me suggests that a 1,000km long fault at the northern end of the Arabian Sea may pose a similar threat.

The Makran, as the southern coastal region of Iran and Pakistan is known, is a subduction zone. In such regions, one of the Earth’s tectonic plates is dragged beneath another, forming a giant fault known as a “megathrust”. As the plates move past each other, they can get stuck, causing stress to build up. At some point the stress becomes high enough that the megathrust breaks in an earthquake.

This was exactly what caused the Sumatra 2004 and Tohoku 2011 earthquakes. When a megathrust moves suddenly, the whole seafloor is offset and the water has to move out of the way over a huge area. This sets off waves with particular characteristics that can cross entire oceans: tsunamis. The phenomenon, along with their potentially large size, makes subduction zone earthquakes particularly dangerous.

https://theconversation.com/the-rapidly-populating-coastal-region-from-the-gulf-to-pakistan-faces-a-huge-tsunami-risk-75569

But just because a part of a subduction zone produces earthquakes doesn’t mean that the whole megathrust can move in one go. We often see that stress builds up at different rates on different parts of the fault, with some parts sliding smoothly past each other. How much of a megathrust can move in one go is important because it determines the size of the resulting earthquake. The amount that the Makran megathrust can move in earthquakes has been a longstanding question, but the hostile climate and challenging politics of the region have made research there difficult.

We know that the eastern part of the Makran megathrust (in Pakistan) can produce large earthquakes. A magnitude 8.1 quake off the coast of western Pakistan in 1945 caused a tsunami which killed about 300 people along the coasts of Pakistan and Oman. There have been several smaller earthquakes on the megathrust since, including a magnitude 6 in February this year.

If the western part of the Makran (in Iran) also produces earthquakes – and the whole Makran megathrust were to move in one go – it could produce a magnitude 9 earthquake, similar to those in Sumatra and Tohoku.

However, we have never actually recorded a subduction earthquake in this part of Makran. In fact, there are only records of one candidate quake from 1483 – and the actual location of this is disputed. But it’s important to keep in mind that just because we haven’t seen an earthquake doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be one – particularly since the intervals between earthquakes are often hundreds or thousands of years. Historically, not many people have lived in the remote Iranian Makran, a desert which killed Alexander the Great’s army. So earthquakes might simply not have been documented.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan plans to build several new #nuclear reactors for 8,800 MW power: PAEC Official https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/pakistan-plans-to-build-several-new-nuclear-reactors-official/articleshow/61374283.cms … via @economictimes

Pakistan plans to build at least three to four big reactors as it targets nuclear power capacity of 8,800 megawatts (MW) by 2030, the country's atomic energy commission chairman said.

Pakistan has five small reactors in operation with combined capacity of just over 1300 MW. The last one in the four-reactor Chashma plant in Punjab province, built by China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), went into operation in September this year.
It is also building two Chinese Hualong One reactors with a capacity of 1100 MW each near the port city of Karachi.
Muhammad Naeem, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, told Reuters these two new reactors are now 60 percent and 40 percent complete respectively and should become operational in 2020 and 2021.
Pakistan is now also in the final stages of awarding contracts for an eighth nuclear reactor with 1100 MW capacity which would take the country's total nuclear capacity to about 5,000 MW when it is fini ..


Riaz Haq said...

China fast-tracks nuclear energy industry
By Li Xuanmin Source:Global Times Published: 2018/4/24 18:53:42

There are four domestic and foreign projects under construction using the Hualong One reactor, including two reactors in Karachi, Pakistan. Units 5 and 6 in Fuqing, East China's Fujian Province, as well as Units 3 and 4 of the Fangchenggang nuclear project in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are also "progressing smoothly," Zhang noted.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1099457.shtml

China is fast-tracking the development of third-generation nuclear power plants both in terms of domestic design as well as nuclear projects under construction, a situation that experts said reflects the "sheer size" of State players that have abundant capital and the ability to absorb risks.

But as core nuclear technologies such as engines and primary pumps are still in the hands of foreign rivals, experts warned that domestic companies should scale up efforts to master such techniques to avoid encountering the plight of ZTE Corp.

The nuclear power industry in China has "made significant headway in recent years, with its advantages basically taking shape," read a report issued by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) on Monday. With regard to industry scale and business prospects, China has become a global center of third-generation nuclear power.

"China is the fastest-expanding nuclear power generator in the world, underscoring the huge potential of the country's nuclear sector at a time when traditional giants like the US are retreating," Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China has 20 nuclear power plants under construction, more than any other country, according to the CNEA report. By the end of 2017, the country had 37 reactors with installed capacity of 35.8 gigawatts (GW), ranking No.4 after the US, France and Russia.

The 20 include the Sanmen nuclear power plant constructed by China National Nuclear Corp and the Haiyang nuclear power reactor in East China's Shandong Province. Some of these are being jointly built by Chinese and foreign companies.

Chinese nuclear companies are also independently building the domestic third-generation reactor known as Hualong One, whose safety standards have achieved world-class levels, CNEA Secretary-General Zhang Tingke was quoted as saying in the report.

There are four domestic and foreign projects under construction using the Hualong One reactor, including two reactors in Karachi, Pakistan. Units 5 and 6 in Fuqing, East China's Fujian Province, as well as Units 3 and 4 of the Fangchenggang nuclear project in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are also "progressing smoothly," Zhang noted.

More than 85 percent of the parts and components of nuclear reactors with installed capacity of more than 1 GW are supplied by domestic companies, the report said.

"China has an incomparable advantage in developing nuclear power — the sheer size of State-owned nuclear enterprises, which have long-term stability and rich financing sources to support research and development spending. They are also not as vulnerable to market risks as their private counterparts," Lin said. "The huge injection of capital at the initial stage could be balanced by quantity production in later phases, providing economic efficiency."

However, domestic companies still lack the ability to manufacture core parts, Han Xiaoping, chief analyst at energy industry website china5e.com, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

For example, "the engines of most reactors in China are imported from foreign rivals like France's EDF Group or Germany-based Siemens," Lin said. Domestic nuclear power plants still use the main pumps and control systems made by US manufacturers.

Riaz Haq said...

#China completes outer dome on first overseas Hualong One (1170 MWe gross, 1090 MWe net) #nuclear #reactor in #Karachi, #Pakistan. The firm is building two Hualong One units at the site. https://reut.rs/2RncyBP

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has finished building the outer safety dome at its first overseas “Hualong One” nuclear reactor in Pakistan, with the project scheduled to be finished by the end of 2020, the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) said late Tuesday.

China is hoping to use its third-generation Hualong One design to boost its presence in the overseas nuclear power sector and it is already making plans to build projects in Argentina and Britain.

CNNC described the completion of the double-layered steel dome on the containment building of the Karachi 2 nuclear power plant in Pakistan as a milestone that would help demonstrate China’s Hualong One technology worldwide. The firm is building two Hualong One units at the site.

China developed the Hualong One reactor as a rival to the Westinghouse-developed AP1000 and Europe’s “Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor”, with both models beset by cost overruns and construction delays.

The world’s first Hualong One reactor is set to go into operation ahead of schedule in the southeast Chinese province of Fujian late next year.

CNNC said its four demonstration projects in China and Pakistan are progressing in an orderly manner, noting that they “are the only third-generation pressurized water reactor projects in the world that are being constructed on schedule.”

Riaz Haq said...

On August 10 (2020), a powerful storm called a derecho swept through the Midwest (predominately eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana in the United States) with wind gusts of up to 130 miles per hour, cutting off the external power supply to the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a General Electric reactor of the same type and vintage as the doomed Fukushima Daiichi units. A pandemic-weary nation didn’t pay much attention, but it should have. According to a preliminary Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) analysis, this was the most serious US nuclear power plant incident in at least 18 years.

https://thebulletin.org/2021/03/fukushima-10-years-later-it-still-could-happen-here/

Duane Arnold, which its owner, NextEra, had been planning to shut down at the end of October 2020 for economic reasons, was already in a vulnerable state. It was operating at only 80 percent of capacity because the primary containment had been overheating due to a cooling system leak, and there was a ruptured nuclear fuel element in the core. In addition, major pieces of safety equipment were out of service for maintenance.

At 12:49 p.m. local time, Duane Arnold automatically shut down after the derecho took down all six power lines supplying the plant. The reactor’s two emergency diesel generators started up as expected. However, the nuclear fuel remained hot, and it took plant operators 14 hours of deft maneuvering to stabilize and cool down the reactor—a process that was not trouble-free. Operators violated technical restrictions several times, one of the two spent fuel pool cooling pumps blew a fuse, and a strainer that filtered potentially damaging debris from the cooling water supply to one of the diesel generators became clogged and had to be bypassed. Off-site power to the plant was not restored until nearly 24 hours after it was lost.

Although operators were able to compensate for all the problems and shut down Duane Arnold safely, the NRC estimates that there was at least a one-in-1,000 chance, on average, that the reactor could have experienced a meltdown. The NRC considers such high-risk events “significant” precursors to a severe accident. For example, if the reactor’s emergency diesel generators had failed, a station blackout similar to the Fukushima accident would have occurred. (The NRC risk estimate optimistically assumes a nearly 90 percent chance that personnel would have been able to save the plant even after a blackout, which workers had failed to accomplish three times over at Fukushima.)

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Plant With New Hualong One Reactor

https://www.powermag.com/pakistan-expanding-nuclear-plant-with-new-hualong-one-reactor/


By Darrell Proctor is a senior associate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).

China continues to be a world leader in exporting its nuclear power technology. Chinese officials in Pakistan on June 20 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a $4.8 billion deal with Pakistan’s nuclear energy agency for construction of a new 1,200-MW reactor at the Chashma power complex.

The new unit will be China’s Hualong One, or HPR1000, pressurized water reactor technology.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the country considers China its “most dependable ally.” Sharif, whose country is in the midst of an economic crisis and looking for outside investment in its energy sector, said construction of the Chashma 5 project, located in Punjab province, would begin immediately.

The Chashma complex has four CNP-300 reactors currently in operation, each with 325 MW of generation capacity. The units were developed by China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC). The first unit came online in 1991; the other units entered commercial operation in 2011, 2016, and 2017, respectively.

Chashma 5 will be built by CNNC subsidiary CNNC China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp., the company said.

Chinese officials recently announced that an HPR1000 has also been proposed for construction at the Bradwell site in the UK. Britain’s Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency said they have started a second, technical, phase of the assessment program for the HPR1000.

Chinese Investment
Sharif, speaking Tuesday on Pakistan’s state-run news channel PTV after the signing of the MOU between the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Chinese officials, said, “Investment from China in this project to the tune of $4.8 billion sends a message loud and clear that Pakistan is a place where Chinese companies and investors continue to show their trust and faith.”

The prime minister originally brokered the project during his time as chief minister of Punjab, an office he held three times, most recently from 2013 to 2018. He was elected as Pakistan’s prime minister in April 2022.

Sharif has supported nuclear power as a way to move Pakistan away from fossil fuels. Its most recent nuclear facility, the 2,200-MW Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, also known as KANUPP, in the southern port city of Karachi, commissioned its two reactors in 2021 and 2022, respectively. That facility, featuring two Hualong One Generation III pressurized water reactors, also was built with financial backing from China.

Sharif on Tuesday said the Chashma 5 project was originally planned to start in 2021. He said Chinese officials did not raise the cost of the project from original estimates despite the delay. Officials on Tuesday said China has to date disbursed 30 billion Pakistani rupees ($104.53 million) to start the project.

“We are deeply obliged to [China] President Xi Jinping, and the Chinese leadership for their generous help to Pakistan,” Sharif said. He also recognized Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar for extending financial support to Pakistan’s government.

Pakistan for years has contended with power outages. Two of the worst incidents occurred in January 2021, and again in January of this year. In 2021, a fault at a power plant brought down the national grid, leading to calls for a massive overhaul of the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

A nationwide power outage on Jan. 30 of this year impacted all of Pakistan’s major cities and left millions of people without electricity.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif launches US$3.5 billion Chinese-designed nuclear energy project

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3227776/pakistans-pm-sharif-launches-us35-billion-chinese-designed-nuclear-energy-project

The two countries had already signed an agreement to construct a state-of-the-art Hualong One reactor
China also gave US$5 billion loan to Pakistan to help it unlock a bailout from the IMF



Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday launched the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Chinese-designed nuclear energy project, which will be built at a cost of US$3.5 billion as part of the government efforts to generate more clean energy in the Islamic nation.
The ceremony to mark the project’s start comes less than a month after Pakistan signed an agreement with China’s National Nuclear Corporation Overseas in the capital, Islamabad, to construct a Hualong One reactor – a third-generation nuclear reactor and is considered safer because of the latest security features.
Pakistan and China are long-time allies. Pakistan’s relations with Beijing are so close that its leadership calls China their “Iron Brother.” China is also building roads, bridges, power plants, and railways to link its far west with the Chinese-built port of Gwadar on the Indian Ocean.

Riaz Haq said...

China Begins Construction of Pakistan's Largest Nuclear Power Plant

https://www.voanews.com/a/china-begins-construction-of-pakistan-s-largest-nuclear-power-plant-/7181016.html


Pakistan held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for what will be its largest civil nuclear power plant — constructed by China — that will contribute 1,200 megawatts of electricity daily to the national grid and is estimated to cost at least $3.5 billion.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior Chinese officials attended the televised event in the central city of Chashma, dubbed the birthplace of China-Pakistan nuclear energy cooperation.

Over the past 30 years, Beijing has installed four nuclear power generation units in Chashma, collectively generating about 1,300 megawatts, with China providing enriched uranium for fuel.

"This mutual cooperation to promote clean, efficient, and comparatively cheaper energy is a gift of friendship between the two countries and a model for other countries to emulate," Sharif said at the ceremony.

The plant, known as Chashma-5, or C-5, will feature what China says is its domestically developed third-generation pressurized water nuclear technology, the Hualong One or HPR1000, with "advanced safety and foolproof security features."

Raja Ali Raza, the head of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, said the nuclear plant project will be completed by 2030.

"C-5 will be Pakistan's largest generation-III plus nuclear power project," Raza said. "This project has brought PAEC one step closer to its envisaged goal of production of 8,800 megawatts electric cheap and clean energy."

Beijing has previously supplied the HPR1000 technology for two nuclear power stations, each with a 1,100-megawatt generation capacity, built and operationalized in the last couple of years in the southern port city of Karachi, enhancing Pakistan's nuclear energy production to more than 3,500 megawatts a day.

Analysts see China's accelerated civil nuclear cooperation with Pakistan as part of efforts to globally find more lucrative buyers for its HPR1000 reactors developed by state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation or CNNC, the country's second-largest nuclear power producer company.


"HPR1000 is a homegrown nuclear technology of CNNC and a flagship of China's advanced equipment manufacturing," Yu Jianfeng, the CNNC chairman, told the ceremony. He noted that more than 17 units of HPR1000 are currently under construction in China.

"Today's groundbreaking for the C-5 project is a significant milestone for HPR1000's global journey and a new start for the China-Pakistan nuclear energy cooperation," Yu stated. "Our cooperation in nuclear energy has become an integral part of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and a shining example of international nuclear energy cooperation."

Under its global Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing also has built and put into commercial operation 14 mostly coal-fired power plants in Pakistan in the last 10 years, with a total installed capacity of 8,000 megawatts daily.

The projects are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, which has also built road networks, highways, ports, and industrial zones with direct Chinese investment and "soft loans," expected to increase to about $62 billion by 2030 when the mega undertaking is due to be complete.

Critics blame CPEC for contributing to Pakistan's deepening economic troubles and depleting foreign exchange reserves, making it difficult for the country to catch up with its foreign debt repayments.

Pakistan owes more than $1.3 billion (350 billion rupees) to Chinese power plants. The amount keeps growing, and China has refused to defer or restructure the payment and CPEC debt repayments.