China amps up nuclear ambitions with 10 new reactor approvals for fourth straight year

China’s State Council has approved 10 new nuclear reactors across five sites, ramping up the development of the nation’s rapidly expanding nuclear power industry with a combined investment of more than 200 billion yuan (US$27.4 billion).

The year’s first approval of new nuclear reactors came during a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Sunday. They will be built in the coastal provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong and Fujian, according to The Paper, a state-run publication.

Among the newly planned reactors, eight are Hualong One reactors, which incorporate China’s third-generation nuclear technology and are each capable of generating about 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – enough to meet the annual demand of 1 million people.

As stressed in the meeting, the development of nuclear power must ensure “absolute safety”.

“The nuclear power industry continues to experience strong growth … China’s nuclear power projects are being regularly approved and built according to the highest global safety standards,” analysts from Citic Securities wrote in a research note on Monday.

This marks the fourth straight year that the State Council has approved at least 10 nuclear reactors. The push to develop nuclear power aligns with China’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as the country remains the world’s largest consumer of coal power and biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.