Demand for electricity will decrease after 10 years

The leakage accident of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan caused public concern for nuclear power. Should nuclear power be developed? Yesterday, during the theme activity of the first Wuhan Design Biennale Zhongnan Electric Power Design Institute, Wang Hui, chief engineer of the Central South Electric Power Design Institute, was interviewed by the reporter. One of the hot issues in the power sector is answered.

Reporter: This year, the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan caused everyone to pay attention to nuclear power technology. How do you see the construction of nuclear power plants?

Wang Hui: Nuclear power is a clean and environmentally friendly new energy source. Especially for the depleted coal resources, it is also a very good alternative energy source. Although the pace of building nuclear power plants is currently slowing, local governments must protect the resources of nuclear power plant sites. In the planning and construction of nuclear power plants, there are not many places that meet the alternative nuclear power plant. For example, we must not choose to use earthquake zones. We must choose places that are sparsely populated, and stay away from public transport facilities such as highways, railways, and airports. Therefore, the government must make preparations for advanced planning and leave open space in preparation for the development of nuclear power plants.

Reporter: Now, China has entered the process of industrialization. In the next five years or even longer, what kind of trend will electricity demand be?

Wang Hui: China will basically complete its industrialization in 2020. At this stage, energy and electricity demand will still maintain a relatively rapid growth rate; after 2020, China will enter the post-industrialization stage, and the growth rate of energy and electricity demand will slow down significantly. China faces energy, resource, and environmental bottlenecks, which determine that China cannot follow the United States’ energy consumption model. Historically, Western developed countries, which account for 15% of the world's population, have used 80% of the world's energy to complete industrialization. Today, with increasingly harsh resources and environmental pressures, China is bound to be unable to replicate this “overdraft” energy consumption development model.