China’s State Council has approved the construction of eight new nuclear reactor units, marking one of the largest single batches of nuclear permits in the country’s history. The approval, granted during an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on July 31, represents a total investment exceeding 170 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion) and reinforces nuclear energy as a central pillar of Beijing’s energy security and low-carbon strategy.
The approved projects span four provinces and include six Hualong One (HPR1000) pressurized water reactors and two Guohe One (CAP1400) reactors. Two pairs of Hualong One units at Jinqimen in Zhejiang and Taipingling in Guangdong have been designated as demonstration projects for Hualong One 2.0 technology, an advanced iteration featuring optimized safety systems, intelligent controls, and modular construction techniques. Each reactor is rated at approximately 1,127 megawatts.
Hualong One 2.0 builds on third-generation reactor technology with independent Chinese innovation, incorporating operational feedback from the ten Hualong One units already in commercial operation worldwide. The design features Chinese-developed safety software, standardized components, and improved economics aimed at reducing construction timelines. Thirty-seven additional Hualong One units are currently approved for construction globally.
China now operates 64 commercial nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of roughly 64 gigawatts, while 37 more units totaling nearly 39 GW are under construction. The country leads the world in nuclear construction and has been approving 8 to 11 new units annually in recent years. The newly approved batch will add nearly 9 GW of capacity once completed, supporting the 15th Five-Year Plan target of 110 GW by 2030.
Nuclear power currently supplies approximately 4.5 to 5 percent of China’s electricity, with fossil fuels still accounting for about 58 percent of generation. However, the clean energy share reached 42 percent in 2025, marking the first absolute decline in coal-fired output since 2015. Each Hualong One unit is designed to generate nearly 10 billion kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power a city of over one million people, while reducing coal consumption by more than 3 million tons and cutting CO2 emissions by over 9 million tons per year.
The State Council emphasized that all units must adhere to the highest global safety standards, with strengthened supervision across the full supply chain. Each approved project will also foster a domestic industrial ecosystem supporting thousands of upstream and downstream enterprises involved in nuclear fuel, components, and construction services.
Analysts say the approvals signal Beijing’s determination to accelerate nuclear deployment as a reliable baseload complement to the rapid but variable expansion of wind and solar capacity. With soaring electricity demand driven by industrial growth and data center expansion, nuclear provides the dispatchable clean power needed to replace aging coal plants while supporting China’s goal of peaking emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Sources: Energy News Beat, Reuters Energy
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