China is outpacing the world in building nuclear reactors. That’s hard to dispute given that the country has more than 30 new reactors under construction and more nuclear capacity in pipeline than the rest of the world combined.
And it’s not stopping there. This week, China’s State Council approved the construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors at five sites. It’s the fourth year in a row China has approved at least 10 new reactors. This time around, it’s getting a batch for the low, low price of 200B yuan ($27B), according to Chinese media.
The council picked four companies to build the new fleet of reactors:
- China General Nuclear will build four Hualong One reactors in total—two at the Taishan plant and two at the Fangchenggang plant.
- China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will build two Hualong One reactors at the Sanmen plant.
- CNNC and Huaneng Power International will jointly build two Hualong One reactors at the Xiapu site, where two fast neutron reactors are currently under construction.
- State Power Investment Corporation will build two CAP1000 reactors at the Haiyang site.
Quick ‘n’ cheap: China’s fleet-scale deployment of nuclear reactors is unmatched. According to China Nuclear Energy Development Report head Wang Yiren, China has held the record for most nuclear capacity under construction for 18 years. The country aims to overtake the US in installed nuclear capacity by 2030 and run 200 GW of operating nuclear power by 2040.
The country has 58 operating reactors, providing almost 60 GW of power, and 30 more are under construction, with a nominal capacity of ~32 GW.
And the pricing stands in contrast to construction projects in the West.
- Vogtle 3 and 4 cost over $35B to build and took 15 years to complete (and since Vogtle 4 opened last year, the US has no new nuclear capacity under construction).
- The UK faces even higher construction costs. Two new units at Hinkley Point C are expected to cost £47.9B ($63.7B) in total.
Lead Reporter of Ignition
