China set to power on with massive nuclear plants(2)

This dilemma was further intensified as provincial governments pinned hopes for nuclear plant projects to boost local tax revenue.
Ground was broken last year on the Taohuajiang nuclear power plant in Hunan Province, which is expected to bring at least 2 billion yuan ($300 million) in annual tax revenue to local Taohua county, whose current tax revenue stood at under 400 million yuan last year, according to government data.
Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, defended the significance of nuclear energy for China's low carbon commitment.
"Nuclear energy is the most effective, and least costly, clean energy among clean energy sources such as solar and wind. If safety issues are not considered, nuclear plants could be built anywhere," Lin said. "But it's the lesson we've learnt from Fukushima, namely that safety and environmental protection are also highly costly. That's why China is now cautious in building nuclear plants."
China has pledged to cut carbon produced per unit of GDP by 17 percent and increase its use of non-fossil energy to 11.4 percent of primary energy consumption by 2015.
In an attempt to dismiss some public concerns about the treatment of nuclear waste, Gui said nuclear waste was collected by the government instead of by companies, before being buried in a designated, uninhabited area of Gansu Province.
A group of Hong Kong lawmakers, academics and environmentalists said Wednesday that they would monitor the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in neighboring Guangdong Province, AFP reported. The plant last year acknowledged possible cracks in fuel tubes, leading to temporary abnormal levels of radiation, but these posed no threats to human, reports said.
Earlier Wednesday, Fan Liqing, a spokeswoman with the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said that she did not have relevant information regarding the Taiwan Power Company's reported intention to also start burying its nuclear waste to Gansu.
Liu Linlin and Reuters contributed to this story