New reactors in key regions
The Chinese government has given the green light for eight new nuclear reactor units. The facilities will be built in four provinces across the country. In Guangdong, the city of Huizhou will be home to two of the reactors. These units will be operated by CGN Power, the nation’s largest nuclear energy company. Other projects are in the works in Liaoning and Zhejiang, with additional developments being managed by state-backed organizations in Shandong.
Each reactor is engineered to generate 1,217 MW of electricity. That output would be enough to power roughly one million homes. Information about the projects came from stock-exchange statements by the state-controlled companies involved. The decision to place reactor sites in multiple provinces reflects a nationwide strategy to grow the country’s nuclear energy infrastructure.
Why nuclear power matters now
As China’s electricity demand continues to rise, the government is focused on ensuring a steady and uninterrupted power supply. While China leads the world in solar and wind energy installations, it still needs nuclear power to stabilize the grid, especially when renewable energy production drops due to weather conditions. The country had previously set goals to reach 58 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2020 and 70 GW by 2025. However, those targets were not achieved. Setbacks followed the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan and were further slowed by supply chain problems during the pandemic.
The current wave of reactor approvals is part of a larger plan to reach 110 GW of nuclear energy by 2030. That would represent a 76% increase from levels expected at the end of 2025. Achieving this target would require the addition of about 47,000 MW of new nuclear capacity over a span of five years. This is a more accelerated pace than China has managed since the pause after the Fukushima incident. Construction of each reactor can take several years to complete, and approval is only the initial stage in the process.
Risks ahead for the 2030 goal
Meeting the 2030 nuclear power target will depend on continued approval of reactor projects and on-time completion. But the past history of delayed milestones makes the target uncertain. Even with multiple reactor approvals each year, the final goal is only met when the projects are successfully constructed and brought online. While the recent greenlights represent progress, they also reveal the risks that remain if delays occur. For the country to stay on track, the government must keep approving and finishing reactors at a consistent rate.