China has accelerated its nuclear power expansion with the approval of five new projects totaling more than 200 billion yuan ($28 billion), as Beijing stepped up efforts to boost investment in the sector and meet its annual economic growth target.
The approval of the projects in the coastal provinces of Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was granted during an executive meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Monday.
The five projects involve 11 reactors, representing the largest number of units approved since 2019.
“The rising sentiment in the sector, coupled with the growth in new nuclear power project approvals, is set to drive growth for equipment suppliers and operators,” Guolian Securities analyst He Zhaohui said on Tuesday.
The approvals followed a call from China’s top leaders during the third plenum in July to be “firmly committed to achieving this year’s economic and social development goals.”
China National Nuclear Power has received approval for three reactors, the company said in a statement on Monday, while State Power Investment Corporation said it had received approval for two units.
CGN Power, a listed unit of state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation, said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Tuesday that it had received approvals for six reactors at three sites.
China has been steadily expanding its nuclear power investment over the past five years, with the value of completed investments increasing year on year since 2019, when investment was 33.5 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), according to data from the National Energy Administration.
In the first half of the year, such investment exceeded 40 billion yuan, representing a growth of 13.5 percent year-on-year, according to Guolian Securities.
In 2023, the completed value of nuclear power plant investment grew by 20% compared with 2022, exceeding 90 billion yuan, marking a five-year peak.
China operates 55 nuclear power plants, ranking third globally, and with 36 units under construction, it has the world’s largest nuclear power construction pipeline, according to state news agency Xinhua.
According to the World Nuclear Association, about 60 power reactors are being built in 16 countries, with about 50% in China.
On Monday, TerraPower – chaired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates – began construction of a nuclear power plant in the US state of Wyoming.
China’s latest approval followed the State Council’s release of new green transition guidelines last week, which pledged to speed up the construction of green energy bases, including nuclear power plants in coastal areas, wind and solar farms in the northwest and thermal power plants in the southwest.
China has set a goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
The country aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuel consumption to 25% by 2030 and gradually reduce coal consumption over the next five years.
China’s nuclear power units generated 433.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2023, contributing about 5 percent of the country’s power supply and replacing more than 123.3 million tonnes of coal, according to the China Nuclear Energy Association.
Via News Agencies
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2024/08/20/china-impulsiona-economia-com-investimento-de-us-28-bi-em-energia-nuclear/
