How Long Will It Take For China’s Nuclear Power To Replace Coal?

By Shih Yu (Elsie) Hung

Countries like France, Japan, and others were forced to re-examine their national nuclear policy due to energy security concerns following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In contrast, for over a decade, China has been steadily expanding its nuclear power fleet to provide stable, reliable, clean baseload electricity for its growing economy. China’s latest Five Year Plan sets the 2025 targets of 70GW of nuclear capacity as well as 3,000GW total power generating capacity from all fuels. In addition, Beijing’s nuclear expansion is part of the nation’s official efforts to achieve its energy transition targets, such as emissions peak by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.