Chinese State Council favors construction of four new nuclear power plants

Brief

August 13, 2003

The Chinese State Council has indicated its support for the construction of four new nuclear power plants, each with a capacity of one million kilowatts. Two will be built in eastern Zhejiang province and two in Lingdong, Guangdong province (southern China), near the four existing Ling Ao and Dayawan reactors. Construction must start before 2005 for the reactors to be operational in late 2010. Several provinces (Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, on the coast, Hubein Hunan, and the city of Chongqing in interior China) are pressuring the State Council to approve new power plant construction to meet growing demand.

The government wants to quadruple the country's nuclear generating capacity to 32-40 million kilowatts by 2020, raising installed capacity from 1.3 to 4-5%. Eight reactors are currently in operation in China and three more are under construction.