China's total nuclear power generation capacity tops world rankings

China

China's total nuclear power generation capacity tops world rankings

2025-04-27 15:11 Last Updated At：23:47

China's total nuclear power generation capacity, with 102 units in operation, under construction, and officially approved, and an installed capacity of 113 million kilowatts, has topped global rankings for the first time, according to the China Nuclear Energy Development Report 2025 released by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) on Sunday.

China currently has 28 nuclear power units under construction, with an installed capacity of 33.65 million kilowatts, a capacity that has held the top spot globally for 18 consecutive years. A total of 58 commercial units are in operation across China, with 60.96 million kilowatts installed capacity, CNEA's report says.

In 2024, China's nuclear power plants generated 444.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, accounting for 4.72 percent of the nation's total output and ranking second globally for nuclear power generation. They helped reduce coal consumption by 127 million tons and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 334 million tons, according to the report.

Notably, China has now fully domesticated production of key nuclear power equipment and gained full control over the technology for critical components of nuclear power plants, the report notes.

"(In 2024) the first reactor of the CAP1400 demonstration project, one of China's major special projects, was completed and put into operation. The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) demonstration project is operating steadily after entering commercial use. The research and development of key technologies for nuclear energy systems based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle with fast reactors is also progressing in an orderly way. In addition, the ACP100 project is also expected to be completed and put into operation in 2026," said Cao Shudong, executive vice chairman of CNEA.

"Extremely high" radiation detected inside Fukushima nuclear plant's reactor

"Extremely high" levels of radiation were detected inside the No.2 reactor at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, according to the results of an investigation published by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the plant's operator, on Thursday.

This marks the first time since the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that TEPCO has measured radiation inside a reactor that suffered a core meltdown.

According to public broadcaster NHK, the investigation was conducted on April 16. A fiberscope equipped with measuring instruments was inserted into the reactor through piping. At a point approximately five meters above the bottom of the reactor, radiation levels were measured at around 4.7 sieverts per hour, classified as "extremely high."

TEPCO stated that the findings indicate a certain amount of nuclear debris remains inside the No.2 reactor. The company will further analyze the data and study methods for removing the debris.

The No.1 through No.3 reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi plant all suffered core meltdowns after the six-reactor facility was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in 2011, leaving behind an estimated 880 tons of nuclear debris.

The highly radioactive material poses significant risks, and its removal is widely regarded as one of the most formidable challenges facing the decommissioning of the plant.