China To Open Nuclear Power Plants To Foreign Investment

May 31, 2007
By 2020 China will build three new nuclear power plants.

China plans to allow private domestic firms and foreign companies to invest in the country's nuclear power plants as it eyes massive nuclear power expansion, state media reported May 31. The government will still hold a controlling stake in all plants, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing Wang Yiren, a senior official with the State Commission of Science and Technology for National Defense Industry.

Over the coming years, China will build as many as three new nuclear power plants annually, bringing total installed capacity up to 40 gigawatts by 2020, according to the nation's long-term development plan for the nuclear power.

State media has reported earlier that China aims to build a strategic reserve for uranium in the coming years as global competition for the scarce resource heats up.

At the end of 2006, only 1.9% of China's total energy needs were produced by nuclear power but this is set to increase to 4% by 2020.

As part of the plan to promote cutting-edge third-generation nuclear technology, China signed in March a framework agreement with U.S. power plant maker Westinghouse for four nuclear power plants.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Learn How Manufacturers like 3M Cater to Digital Buyers to Increase Sales

Aug. 13, 2023
In this article, you'll learn how manufacturers can balance educating and guiding their buyers through their complex buying process with a digital first approach to product discovery...

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

How Manufacturers Can Optimize Operations with Weather Intelligence

Nov. 2, 2023
The bad news? Severe weather has emerged as one of the biggest threats to continuity and safety in manufacturing. The good news? The intelligence solutions that build weather ...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!