China’s State Council approved eight new nuclear reactors on Friday, clearing projects worth more than 170 billion yuan ($25 billion) as the country accelerates an atomic buildout meant to meet surging electricity demand without adding carbon emissions. The cabinet’s sign-off, disclosed in filings from state-backed power producers, spans four provinces and marks the latest step toward a 2030 capacity target that would require the fleet to grow by roughly three-quarters from current levels.
The projects and the operators
CGN Power Co., the nation’s largest nuclear operator, secured approval for Huizhou Units 5 and 6 in Guangdong province. Each unit is designed to add 1,217 megawatts of capacity once complete. China National Nuclear Power Corp. received the green light for the Zhuanghe project in Liaoning and the Jinqimen facility in Zhejiang, while SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings Co. was cleared for the Laiyang development in Shandong. The filings did not specify individual project values or construction timelines.
The 2030 target and the math behind it
In March the government set a goal of 110 gigawatts of installed nuclear capacity by 2030, a 76 percent increase from the level at the end of 2025. Hitting that mark would position China to overtake France and the United States as the world’s largest nuclear generator before the decade ends. The target is not a forecast but a policy directive; the approvals on Friday are the mechanism intended to close the gap.
The track record complicates the outlook
China has missed its own nuclear milestones before. The previous targets of 58 gigawatts by 2020 and 70 gigawatts by 2025 were both unmet after a multi-year approval freeze that followed Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster and, later, post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks. The current expansion resumes a pace that was interrupted for years; whether the supply chain and regulatory throughput can sustain the required build rate remains an open question.