China's nuclear power capacity to see 7-fold increase in next 10 years

In order to fulfill the promise made at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the proportion of China's non-fossil energy should reach 15 percent, including 4 to 6 percent of energy provided by nuclear power by 2020, said an official from the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a report from Shanghai Securities News.

The official said that under an initial estimate, China's scale of nuclear power should reach at least 75 million kilowatts in order to achieve the target by 2020, while currently, China's nuclear power installed capacity is only 9 million kilowatts. Therefore, China expects to increase the installed capacity as high as seven to eight times in the future.

China's urgent need for energy conservation and carbon emissions reduction allows nuclear power, which has the advantage of stability, to become an important choice for clean energy in the short term, said Zhang Shuai, a senior analyst from the Sinolink Securities.

In addition, the two major nuclear power industry groups in China gradually accelerated the purchase of overseas uranium resources and ensured the uranium fuel supply for large-scale installed capacity requirements. This has also laid the foundation of raw materials for nuclear power development in China, Zhang said.

"As China's electric energy structure is facing a structural transformation, the strategic position of nuclear power as a highly-efficient source of clean energy without carbon emissions will be further strengthened," Zhang said.

Currently, the proportion of China's nuclear power installed capacity is less than 2 percent of overall energy generation, still far behind the global average level of 16 percent. This has also become an important impetus for the development of nuclear power in China.

Nuclear power is a clean and efficient, safe and reliable new energy, and promoting nuclear power development is an important development direction of China's energy plans. It also plays an important role in adjusting the energy structure, ensuring energy security and enhancing development potential, said Chinese deputy Prime Minister Li Keqiang during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Fuqing Nuclear Power Project in Fujian Province in November 2008.

By People's Daily Online