Officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the specific locations of the new nuclear energy projects, but they may involve Sanmen of Zhejiang province, Yaogu in Guangdong province and Haiyang and Rongcheng in Shandong province, as indicated by Zhang.

Photo taken on Dec. 16, 2008 shows an overall view of the construction site of Yangjiang nuclear power plant in Dongping Town, Yangjiang City, south China's Guangdong Province. [Xinhua]

The authorities will begin construction of nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 8.4 GW this year alone, State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) cited participants in a national energy conference held in Beijing yesterday as saying.

The country will also invest 580 billion yuan (US$84.8 billion) in the power industry this year and will accelerate its development of nuclear power plants and wind farms, CCTV reported.

Oil reserves

Similarly, China's four strategic oil reserve bases have reportedly begun operating and the country will start building eight more of such reserves this year, including those in Huangdao, Shandong province, and Jinzhou, Liaoning province.

China currently relies on coal power plants to supply about 80 percent of its total energy needs. However, transporting coal can often be problematic, as shown by the damage sustained by the nation's railway system in snowstorms last year, Fu said.

The authorities were then forced to shut many coal-fired power plants, leading to blackouts in many cities, he said.

"China is in dire need of more nuclear power plants, especially in its southern provinces that are more economically developed but have a more acute need for local energy reserves," Fu said.

The need to control carbon emissions also means the country has to increase its nuclear power generation, he said.

"Third-generation nuclear power technologies, such as the AP1000 developed by the United States-based Westinghouse Electric Co, will be the main feature of our future nuclear power plants," Fu said.

(China Daily February 4, 2009)