China Halts Reactor Approvals As Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Intensifies

As the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor complex intensifies, China has suspended approval of all new nuclear power plants until additional safety standards are in place. Government officials also said they will require safety checks at existing reactors and those under construction, according to an announcement by China’s State Council. “We will temporarily suspend approval of nuclear power projects, including those in the preliminary stages of development,” a statement said. The action will at least temporarily slow China’s aggressive push to add new reactors; 13 nuclear reactors are now operating in China, with at least 26 more under construction. In Germany, where the government this week shut down its seven oldest nuclear reactors for safety checks, the green energy lobby BEE has stated that renewable energy can fill the energy void left by the closed plants and meet 47 percent of Germany’s energy needs by 2020.