The Chinese Nuclear Energy Push

Under plans already announced, China intends to spend $50 billion to build 32 nuclear plants by 2020. Some analysts say the country will build 300 more by the middle of the century. That's not much less than the generating power of all the nuclear plants in the world today.

By that point, the Chinese economy is expected to be the world's largest, and the idea that it may get most of its electricity from nuclear fission is being met with both optimism and concern. Nuclear power plants, unlike those that run on fossil fuels, release few greenhouse gases. But they produce waste that can be dangerously radioactive for thousands of years.

But unlike greenhouse gas emissions, used nuclear fuel can easily be easily managed for an indefinite period of time. Meanwhile, techniques to sequester carbon have yet to be perfected.

Here's hoping China builds every last one of those nuclear plants, and maybe a few more.

For more news from China, click here.

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NEI Nuclear Notes

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