The National Development and Reform Commission has expressed its intent to raise China's electricity production via nuclear power from the current 2% to 6% by 2020.

China at present has 31 nuclear plants with a total output of 26.7 GW. Twenty-one more plants are currently being developed with target total capacity of 21.1 GW. The Chinese government is developing more nuclear reactors with the goal of producing 58 GW of electricity by 2020.

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China's Climate Change official Xie Zhenhua said in a statement that China intends to develop nuclear energy solutions to further expand its non-dependency on fossil energy and achieve at least 20 percent nuclear power usage by 2030. China is now targeting inland sites for developing nuclear reactor sites.

"Security must be considered as the most important factor when developing nuclear power," said Xie. He also stressed that the government is intent on prioritizing proper equipment, management, and location safety.

The Fukushima nuclear fallout disaster in Japan in 2011 forced China to put its nuclear plans on hold.  Approvals for new nuclear plants were also suspended while a government-backed safety review was launched country-wide after the disaster. The program and the approvals were only resumed in October 2012.

The State Council gave its approval to most hydropower and nuclear power projects in the country on Wednesday, to develop cleaner energy and ensure sustainable economic development. A statement from the council said the nuclear projects will stabilize the economy, maximize non-fossil fuel energy dependency and develop people's work and livelihood.

China, during the United Nations climate change conference, vowed to lower its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030; increase non-fossil fuel energy usage to about 20 percent; and peak its carbon emissions by the same date.

Xie said that if the emission targets are accurately achieved, China's pollution will drop by an estimate of 42 percent. Recently, 40 cities issued alerts for air pollution in northern China. Beijing recently announced its second red alert this month, which is regarded as the most serious level on the country's four-tier warning system.

The country's full nuclear strategy is completely outlined in the draft of China's new Five-Year Plan which covers 2016 to 2020. The drafted plan is China's 13th, and it should be noted that the country has kept close to most of their previous goals. 

TagsNuclear Power, Non-Fossil Energy Consumption, China Develop Nuclear Power, china carbon emissions