China’s installed nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 60 million kilowatts by 2020, as work on its nuclear energy plants were progressing faster than planned, a senior official said.

Eleven nuclear power generating units with a combined installed capacity of nearly 10 million kilowatts are now in operation in China, whose 84 per cent of energy requirements are met by thermal plants.

“It is necessary to increase the share of nuclear power and electricity based on renewal energy” while trying to reduce dependence on coal for power generation, Zhang Guobao, vice-minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said.

Growing demand

Zhang Guobao said there was a growing demand for building nuclear power plants in China and progress had been made in the localisation of nuclear power generating equipment.

Nuclear power plants are all located in the coastal provinces but others are also keen on building the facilities, Zhang Guobao said, according to Xinhua news agency.

The National Bureau of Statistics data show that China produced about 3.28 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2007, of which only 1.9 per cent was nuclear power.