BEIJING - To help meet the country`s growing demand for electricity, China will boost nuclear-power generation by opening the industry to private and foreign investors.
China`s draft nuclear-energy law is being revised so that domestic and foreign companies can invest in the country`s nuclear-power-generating projects but cannot hold a controlling stake, said Wang Yiren, a senior official with the State Commission of Science and Technology for National Defense Industry.
According to China`s longer-term development plan for the nuclear power industry, capacity will increase to 40 million kilowatts in 2020, with construction work beginning on at least three nuclear power-generating units in each of the coming 10 years.
Currently, there are 10 commercial nuclear power-generating units operational in China, including the No 1 unit at the Tianwan nuclear power station in eastern China`s Jiangsu province, which came on stream on May 17. Their combined installed capacity stands at 8 million kilowatts.
The other nine units include Qinshan, Dayawan, and Phase 2 and Phase 3 of Qinshan and Lingao. Four units are being built for the second phase of the Lingao project in southern China`s Guangdong province and the second phase of the Qinshan project in eastern China`s Zhejiang province.
According to Wang, China`s nuclear industry generated 54.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, less than 2% of the nation`s total. The government wants the nuclear industry to contribute 4% of the nation`s energy needs by 2020.
Wang said the government has strict controls on prospecting and mining of uranium ore but allows foreign experts to assist Chinese geological authorities in their prospecting efforts.
China now has more than 300 research institutions and production firms devoted to nuclear technology, employing about 50,000 people.
In general, China`s electricity output is expected to grow by 14% year on year in the first half of 2007, but demand continues to outrun supply in some areas, according to the nation`s top economic planner.
Power output will reach 1.45 trillion kilowatt-hours between January and June, said a report released by the Economy Operation Department of the National Development and Research Commission (NDRC).
The output increase will help meet surging power demand in the world`s second-largest energy consumer, but power crunches continue to affect such provinces as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hainan, Shanxi and Liaoning, said the NDRC.
Earlier Xinhua News Agency reported that the bustling southern province of Guangdong was facing major electricity shortages for the fifth summer in a row.
"In April, we were short of 4 million kilowatt-hours of power, far above the 2.55 [million] to 3.69 million kilowatt-hours predicted," said an official in charge of electricity-resources management.
China generated 701 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first quarter of the year. The output represented an increase of 15.5% from a year ago, 4.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to the report.
Electricity used by industry grew 17% in the first three months, said the report, adding that industrial power consumption accounted for 76% of the nation`s total power consumption, up 3.4 percentage points from 2000.