China to increase nuclear capacity ten-fold by 2020

China plans to increase its installed nuclear power capacity almost 10-fold to 86GW by 2020, as part of a bid to challenge coal's dominant position in the country's energy mix.

The new goal builds on the 40GW target for nuclear power capacity that was announced last year for the year 2020, and which was revised in April this year to 70GW.

China currently has 11 nuclear reactors at six plants, all located on the country’s east coast, with a combined installed capacity of 9GW.

In order to meet the latest target, the government will set up reactors in the inland provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan and Hubei, state-run newspaper China Daily reported last week.

In April, China announced that five nuclear power plants would be built in the coastal provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan. Two of the plants will use third-generation pressurised water reactor technologies by engineering giant Westinghouse Electric.

Work on a further 24 reactors is now underway, with 22GW of nuclear power capacity under construction as of last year.

Nuclear energy has been earmarked by the government as a key component in China's push to curb its carbon emissions and reduce the country's reliance on coal. China is the world's second largest energy user after the US, but accounts for only two per cent of the nuclear power produced globally, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Nuclear power is also enjoying a renaissance across the Asia-Pacific region. For example, Japan last month said it would need to generate about 40 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power by 2020 in order to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.