The State Council has officially approved a plan to expand
nuclear power generation capacity by 23 million kilowatts from 2005
to 2020, according to the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC).
According to the plan, submitted by NDRC, China will have an
installed nuclear power capacity of 40 million kilowatts on the
mainland by 2020, or four percent of the total installed power
generation capacity.
New projects with a combined capacity of 23 million kilowatts
will be launched, involving a total investment of 450 billion yuan
(about US$60 billion).
The sites for the planned capacity will be chosen from the
coastal cities in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Liaoning and Fujian provinces. According to the plan,
the government will consider constructing one nuclear power plant
in the coastal provinces that don't have such plants.
Currently, nuclear power capacity on the mainland stood at 16.68
million kilowatts, with 11 nuclear reactors in operation boasting a
combined capacity of 9.068 million kilowatts and another eight
units in construction.
The Tianwan Nuclear Power Station,
located in east China's Jiangsu Province, is a nuclear power
station with the largest single-unit capacity in China.
(China Daily November 4, 2007)