The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in Guangdong province. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

By the end of 2019, there were 11 nuclear power units under construction in Chinese mainland, representing the largest number of nuclear power units under construction in the world, and 47 nuclear power units operating safely and stably, ranking third in the world.

Since the birth of China’s nuclear industry on Jan.15, 1955, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made the strategic decision to develop nuclear energy in China, the country has accumulated enormous experience in such areas as reactor research and development, nuclear power station design, equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, as well as operation and management of nuclear power units, with the country’s capacity in certain areas reaching leading levels in the world.

According to the press conference held by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on Wednesday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the birth of China’s nuclear industry, CNNC has built five nuclear power bases in China, with its commercial nuclear power units amounting to 21, and 6 nuclear power units currently under construction.

CNNC’s nuclear power units generated about 136.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2019, and accumulatively about 969.1 billion kilowatt hours, helping save the world from the consumption of about 390 million tons of standard coal, which would have added about 966.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and about 29.1 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.

The ecological benefit of the electricity generated by CNNC’s nuclear power units over these years is also equivalent to that of 2.6 million hectares of trees.

China has never had a level-2 or worse nuclear incident in the 65-year history of its nuclear industry. The country has maintained a great safety record of its nuclear materials, characterized by the slogan “not one gram lost and not one piece missing”.

As one of the global leaders in industrial security, China’s experience and achievements in the nuclear industry has contributed significantly to the development of the global nuclear industry.