China plans major nuclear power expansion

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Chinese officials are considering starting construction on eight new nuclear power plants in the next three years, sources said.

The Xinhua news agency said Wednesday that Chinese newspapers were reporting that China plans to double its nuclear capacity to 70 gigawatts by 2020 and make nuclear 5 percent of the country's total energy mix.

A source at the National Energy Administration told the 21st Century Business Herald that the eight proposed plants would include 16 separate reactors and account for 10 gigawatts of electricity output. China has 11 reactors in operation.

Xinhua also noted that China also has ambitious plans for coal and renewable generation as well as improvement of the transmission grid.