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imageISLAMABAD: Peaceful regional cooperation for use of nuclear energy between Pakistan and China is a symbol of un-wavered and timeless friendship, which will play major role in fulfilling the objective to increase the share of nuclear electricity in the country.

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission(PAEC) has set iself on the road to self-reliance by establishing applied academic institutes,training centers,design organizations,research facilities,testing labs and manufacturing workshops.

To meet the national electricity needs, PAEC has been tasked by the government to install 8,800 MW nuclear power capacity by the year 2030,Chairman PAEC Dr Ansar Parvez told.

"We are planning not only to accomplish the task but go on to install more than 42,000 MW nuclear power capacity by 2050", he told.

This is the Nuclear vision 2050 approved by the National Command Authority.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently performed ground breaking of Coastal Porwer project ,two units,1100 MW each,on Nov 26,2013.He said that he would be looking forward to laying a strong and solid foundation for Nuclear vision 2050.

Presently, the share of Nuclear energy in the power sector is 5-6% and expected to be increased by the operation of Chashma Nuclear Power C-3/C-4.

PAEC is well poised to operate and maintain future power plants.'PAEC is now exploring new sites for nuclear power plants and negotiating with suppliers for equipment and for facilitation in indigenous design and project management.

Negotiations are continuing with China to proceed further and meet the target and the emphasis in these negotiations will be on design,safety,cost economics and increasing the level of indigenization.

China is now ranked amongst the world leaders in nuclear technology and at present,29 nuclear power plants are under construction there,by far the largest in any country, Chairman said.

An example of international acknowledgement of their growing prowess in the field is the fact that Southern Nuclear Company, the owners of a new Nuclear Project (Vogtle,Georgia) underway in the United States, have set up an office in Shanghai to enable their engineers to learn from the Chinese experience in reactor construction.

"Chinese companies have also become partners in a joint international venture to set up nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom".

Present economic competitiveness of nuclear power in Pakistan led by the successful operation of two small nuclear power plants, C-1 and C-2 is quite evident from a comparison of unit cost electricity from various sources in the country in documents such as NEPRA annual reports, Chairman said. Based on these reports,one can claim that if all power plants in Pakistan operated,or could operate, at the combined average capacity factors of C-1 and C-2, there would practically have been no loadshedding in the country,Dr Ansar said. "If the average cost of generation of electricity in Pakistan matched the average cost of generation from C-1 and C-2, there would be no need to subsidize electricity rates and there would have been no circular debt". Cost assessments show that the unit cost of electricity generation from the new nuclear projects would also be below other major sources in the country, apart from hydro,and comparable to coal (imported or local), the environmental impact of burning coal notwithstanding.

Talking about safety measures, official sources said the possibility of accidents occurring in unexpected ways is fully recognized in the design of nuclear reactors, adding the concept of "defence in depth" is employed extensively to counter it.

This includes the incorporation of multiple barriers in design and many levels of safety assurance throughout the design,constructional and operational phases,he said.

He said post Fukushima,nuclear power plants are being equipped to cope with the most unlikely scenarios of total black out and non-functionality of several of the engineered safety features built in the plant.

These safety upgrades are inbuilt features of the design of new plants, he said,adding some of these are also being implemented at the PAEC operating plants.

The Policy for Development of Renewable Energy for Power Generation (2006) formulated by Alternate Energy Development Board of Pakistan envisages increase in the deployment of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in Pakistan so that RE (solar, wind, biomass, tidal, geothermal etc.) provides a minimum of 9,700 MW by 2030 and helps ensure universal access to electricity in all regions of the country, official sources at Pakistan Council of Science and Technology (PCST) told APP,here today.

This objective would be achieved through a number of measures including the facilitation of the establishment of domestic RETs manufacturing base.

Facilities and manpower available in PCRET can be utilized to achieve the stated target, he said.

Official said the total hydropower potential in the country is close to 57,000 MW whereas, the current installed capacity is only 6464 MW.

Apart from the on-going projects of 1505 MW, other feasible projects can generate upto 24000 MW. The PAEC envisages to produce 8800 MW by year 2030 through nuclear power reactors.

"However, the coordination of the overall energy production efforts in the country and creating synergies among various R&D fora are necessary for achieving self-sufficiency in this sector", he concluded.

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