|
|
| Fig. 1: Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, Guangdong. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (Fig 1.) built in 1995, is located east of Shenzhen in Southern China, approximately 50km from the center of Hong Kong. [1] The plant is a joint venture between the Guandong Nuclear Investment Company, owning 75% of the joint venture, and the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company, owning the remaining 25%. [1] The plant has a total capacity of 1800 megawatts, with 70% of the total generated electricity supplied to Hong Kong, and the remaining 30% of this electricity is supplied to Guangdong Province. [2]
In 2010, the Hong Kong government introduced goals to source 50% of Hong Kong's fuel mix from nuclear sources by 2020, however due to the events surrounding the Fukushima radiation leak in Japan shortly following this announcement, this goal was reevaluated based on public concern, and in 2014 the government announced that Hong Kong would half this initial goal, aiming to source 25% of its energy from Nuclear sources. [3] Increasing the prevalence of Nuclear energy within Hong Kong's fuel mix, seeks to reduce Hong Kong's reliance on greenhouse gas emitting fuel sources such as coal and oil, and consequently working to decrease carbon dioxide emissions, however many Hong Kong citizens argue that nuclear power is not a solution for this.
The Daya Bay Nuclear power plant seeks to provide Hong Kong with 25% of its fuel mix, providing a source of electricity that neither emits carbon dioxide, nor relies upon the volatile price swings of fossil fuels. [4] Due to Hong Kong being a densely populated region with a lack of space for building industrial sized renewable and/or nuclear power plants, gaining access to energy produced from Daya Bay Nuclear power plant is advantageous for Hong Kong as it doesn't take up space on Hong Kong territory nor will the production of non-greenhouse-gas emitting energy be hindered by supply constraints of renewable sources such as solar and wind energy. [4] Despite the adoption of the most advanced pressurized water reactor technology at the Daya Bay Power Station and China's innate experience with building nuclear power plants in the past, Hong Kong residents were not entirely in support of this production fundamentally due to understandable safety concerns and risks.
The main arguments against Hong Kong's adoption of nuclear power and the reliance on the Daya Bay Nuclear power plant, fundamentally exist around safety concerns which were amplified following the events of the Chernobyl nuclear crisis in 1986. Hong Kong residents voiced concerns about the possibility of nuclear accidents and the consequent effects that this could have on the health of the population, also questioning the feasibility of evacuation plans and emergency measures. [2] Residents of Hong Kong were assured that the technology to be used for the Daya Bay Power Station was the most advanced pressurized water reactor technology available at the time, however residents against the construction argued that even the most advanced technology will not rule out human error. [2] Furthermore, although the reactors are situated close to Hong Kong boarders, the station is managed by mainland China, thus the Hong Kong government cannot impose regulations or monitor the operations of this plant, contributing to residents' concerns. While some residents argued for the permanent shelving of the Daya Bay Power Station, others simply argued for a relocation of the plant to more isolated areas further away from Hong Kong boarders, and thus reducing the potential for a nuclear accident to affect the densely populated region of Hong Kong. [2]
In 15 years time (marking the 40th year of operations at the Daya Bay Nuclear power plant), the agreement between Hong Kong and Guangdong province stating that Daya Bay Nuclear power plant will supply 70% of its total generated electricity to Hong Kong, will be reevaluated. [4] Due to the events of the Fukushima nuclear disaster occurring almost 8 years ago, and due to the contract reevaluation date marking the minimum age at which nuclear powerplants must be decommissioned and cleaned up, Hong Kong must make important decisions about the future for Nuclear power within its fuel mix. [4] While pro-nuclear activists argue that nuclear fission has been both a successful, reliable, and stable source of energy from the Daya Bay Nuclear power plant over the past 25 years, others suggest that Hong Kong should push to develop their renewable energy sector, suggesting natural gas as an alternative, limiting the potential for nuclear disasters and safety concerns, and to protect the surrounding environment and Hong Kong community. [3] While there are advantages and limitations that come with both sides of the Daya Bay Nuclear power plant debate within the Hong Kong community, it is clear that Hong Kong must weigh up these arguments in their continuous push for non-carbon dioxide emitting energy sources in the future to reduce their heavy reliance on coal powered electricity generation.
© Olivia Lancaster. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] W. Du, "Nuclear Safety in High Population Density Regions: The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in China," GeoJournal 17, 437 (1988).
[2] H. S. Yee and W. Yiu-Chung, "Hong Kong: The Politics of the Daya Bay Nuclear Plant Debate," Int. Aff. 63, 617 (1987).
[3] F. Yeung, "Nuclear Power Isn't the Way Forward for Hong Kong," South China Morning Post, 6 Dec 15.
[4] E. Kao, "Balance of Power: The Future for Nuclear Energy in Hong Kong," South China Morning Post, 9 Mar 16.
