China could keep the pace of approving at least 10 new nuclear reactors over the next 10 years, a domestic industry group says, as the country has been accelerating the approval and construction of nuclear power plants over the past few years.
China could commit to a “realistic target” of 10 new approvals each year through 2035, Tian Jiashu, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Nuclear Society, said at the BloombergNEF Summit in Shanghai this week.
Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is a major impetus for China to expand its nuclear generation fleet.
China is not giving up coal, but it is betting on nuclear, too, to meet its rising power demand with cleaner energy sources.
Over the past decade, China has added more than 34 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity over the past decade as new installations surged.
Over the past two years, China has approved at least 10 new nuclear reactors for construction.
Earlier this year, China approved the construction of 11 new nuclear reactors, breaking a record and once again demonstrating its all-of-the-above attitude to energy security.
The country is building more nuclear power plants than any other country in the world—just like its coal power plants—and based on those record approvals, it plans to build even more, becoming the world’s biggest nuclear generator by 2030, according to BloombergNEF.
Currently, China has 57 operable reactors with a total capacity of 55.7 GW, as well as 30 reactors under construction with a combined capacity of 32 GW, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Yet, China would need more private investment in nuclear reactors to keep the pace of reactor approvals and construction, Chinese Nuclear Society’s Tian said at the BloombergNEF event.
The United States still has the largest nuclear fleet in the world, with 94 reactors, but it took nearly 40 years to add the same nuclear power capacity as China added in 10 years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said earlier this year.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
