China's new five-year plan plans doubling nuclear power capacity

The National People's Congress of China has approved a draft of 13^th Five-Year plan, which will be officially implemented in the next few months.

Under this plan, China plans to complete the construction of four AP1000 units currently under construction at Sanmen in Zhejiang province and at Haiyang in Shandong province (Sanmen-1 and Haiyang-1 by the end of 2016 and the other two reactors by late 2017).

China will also build Hualong One demonstration projects at the Fuqing nuclear plant in Fujian province and at the Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi by 2020; three units are already under construction (Fuqing-5, Fuqing-6 and Fangchenggang-3) with the construction of Fangchenggang-4 due later in 2016 and all units are expected to be commissioned by 2020. The plan also includes the construction of a demonstration CAP1400 plant in Shidaowan, in the Shandong province, where site preparation is already under way. The CAP1400 reactor technology is expected to be exported in many countries.

China also calls for the construction of the third phase of the Tianwan plant in the Jiangsu province, consisting of two 1,080 MW ACPR1000 reactors (Tianwan-5 and 6); construction was initially expected in early 2011 but was suspended after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.

China could also approve a "small number" of nuclear projects each year, including inland projects (Taohuajiang, Xianning and Pengze) and a new coastal power project, whose location is not disclosed yet.

Overall, the 13^th five-year plan foresees a nuclear capacity growth, from the current 27 GW to 58 GW by 2020. A further 30 GW will be under construction by 2020.