China is offering new backing for the development of nuclear power as a key tool in its drive to cut carbon emissions.
The nation will promote the construction of coastal nuclear power plants and aims to have 70 gigawatts of generation capacity by 2025 from just below 50 gigawatts at the end of last year, according to the latest five-year plan presented Friday to China’s annual National People’s Congress. That would equate to about 20 new reactors.
While the target is broadly in line with the nation’s existing ambitions, the fact that the nuclear sector’s future is being laid out in fine detail — unlike some of the alternatives including solar and wind — shows the importance that China’s leadership is attaching to the fuel.