CHINA is on course to meet its target to raise its total installed nuclear capacity to 58 gigawatts (GW) after a resumption in new project approvals last year, an official with the country’s nuclear agency said yesterday.

    Xu Dazhe, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told reporters that China now had 30 reactors in operation, with a total capacity of 28.3 GW. Another 24 units are now under construction, with a total capacity of 26.7 GW, following the approval of eight new reactors last year, Xu said.

    “At this speed, the targets to put 58 GW into operation and have another 30 GW under construction by 2020 are still within our plans,” he said at a briefing on nuclear safety.

    Of the total now in operation, 28 are commercial nuclear projects. According to the China Nuclear Energy Association, they generated 169 billion kilowatt-hours of power last year, up 29.4 percent from 2014.

    China suspended new reactor approvals and launched a nationwide inspection of all its nuclear projects in 2011 after a massive earthquake and tsunami sparked meltdowns at an ageing nuclear plant in Japan’s Fukushima.

    While some countries have vowed to phase out their nuclear reactor fleet as a result of safety concerns and growing public opposition, China is now embarking on the world’s biggest nuclear construction program as part of its efforts to ease its dependence on coal.

    China also aims to become a leading global reactor builder, and has signed preliminary agreements with countries such as Argentina and Romania to export technology, including its flagship “Hualong I” reactor design.

    State nuclear firms are also set to help finance a reactor at Britain’s Hinkley Point after signing a deal with France’s EDF last year.

    (SD-Agencies)