China has accelerated the building of nuclear power plants this year, and now leads the world in its nuclear power plant construction and generation capacity, supported by a large-scale and highly capable industrial and supply chain system.
In late June, with the completion of the lifting of the passive containment cooling water tank module for Unit 4 at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant Phase II project in Haiyang City, east China's Shandong Province, the project entered the installation and commissioning phase.
"Units 3 and 4 of Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant all adopt domestically designed and indigenous technologies. After they are fully put into operation in 2027, the four units will generate 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which can meet the electricity demand of half of the residents in Shandong," said Li Jianwei, general commander of Phase II of Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant at the State Power Investment Corp (SPIC).
China has 58 approved nuclear power units currently under construction, accounting for more than half of the global total. The installed generation capacity of nuclear power units in operation and under construction has reached 135 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world.
As a key energy source driving the green transformation of the economy and society, nuclear power in China contributes nearly five percent of the country's total electricity generation, despite accounting for less than two percent of the national installed power capacity.
In four provinces, Guangdong, Fujian, Liaoning and Hainan, nuclear power accounts for more than 15 percent of their total electricity generation.
"China has established a large-scale, comprehensive, high-level and highly capable nuclear power industrial and supply chain system. The localization rate of equipment has exceeded 90 percent, making China one of the few countries in the world with a complete nuclear power industrial system," said Zhao Xueshun, deputy director of the Nuclear Power Department of the National Energy Administration.
At the end of July, China approved another eight nuclear power units, the first batch of nuclear power projects approved during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
During this period, China will continue to follow the principle of robust, safe and orderly development in nuclear power construction, steadily advance the development of the eastern coastal nuclear power belt, and gradually increase the share of nuclear power in energy and electricity consumption.
By 2030, China's installed nuclear power capacity is expected to reach around 110 million kilowatts.
China's nuclear power industry leads world
