(Yicai) Jan. 2 -- China’s cabinet approved the construction of the number 3 and number 4 reactor units at China General Nuclear Power Corp's Taipingling Nuclear Power Station at the end of last month, bringing the total green lit in 2023 to eight.

The two units will be powered by the country’s third-generation atomic power technology Hualong One, developed by China General Nuclear Power and China National Nuclear Corp., the State Council said on Dec. 29. Costing a combined CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion), they will each be capable of generating 1,209 megawatts of power each year,

The Taipingling plant, located in Huizhou, southern Guangdong province, is the first nuclear power station in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to use the Hualong One and one of the first 'Hualong One' fusion demonstration bases in the country.

The first two units of the Taipingling station are already under construction and should be up and running in 2025. Over 95 percent of the materials and equipment are being sourced locally.

Once complete, the Taipingling plant will have six Hualong One reactor units that will generate up to 50 billion kilowatt-hours of power per year. This will slash coal consumption by over 15 million tons and cut greenhouse emissions by 41.2 million tons, equivalent to planting 113,000 hectares of forest.

China is actively promoting the use of nuclear energy which is expected to supply around 10 percent of the country’s electricity by 2035, double the present amount, Wang Binghua, the director of the China Nuclear Energy Association’s nuclear energy public communications committee, said in September.

China has 55 nuclear power stations in operation on the mainland, with an installed capacity of 57 million kilowatts, Wang said. And there are 24 plants under construction, which will have an output of 27.8 million kilowatts.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor