PowerChina, one of the leading power plant builders in China, announced plans to increase nuclear technologies in the country by 2030, according to a report China Daily. The company aims to build 110 operational nuclear reactors in China and effectively transform the country into one of the largest nuclear energy users in the world.
The power plant builder estimates that the total scale of the nuclear power generation from reactors that are in operation and under construction can meet the estimates included in the draft of the 13th Five-Year-Plan (2016-20) for the power industry--that is, 88 gigawatts by 2020.
In the draft plan, 500 billion yuan ($78 billion) will be used to finance the project using homegrown nuclear technologies. The fund will also cover the construction of six to eight nuclear reactors every year starting 2016.
Although it's still in the planning stages, PowerChina said that it will "set the tone during the annual legislative and political advisory sessions in 2016."
PowerChina, also known as Power Construction Corp. of China Ltd., saw its revenue rise by 24.7 percent or 145 billion yuan during the first nine months of 2015, according to a regulatory filing. The company provides a variety of services in the hydropower, thermal power and nuclear industries.
Over the recent years, China has been making vast improvements to its nuclear energy industry, so much so that some experts and businessmen agree the time is ripe to export nuclear technologies.
In fact, Chinese nuclear companies have already made deals in markets such as the United Kingdom, Argentina and Kenya. China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC), for example, will build Argentina two nuclear reactors using technologies from Canana-based Candu Inc. and Hualong One Technology.