(Yicai) Sept. 26 -- Nuclear power is expected to supply around 10 percent of China’s electricity by 2035, close to the current global average, The Paper reported today, citing the head of a nuclear energy association’s committee.

By 2035, the use of nuclear energy-generated power will reduce greenhouse emissions by 920 million tons, Wang Binghua, director of the China Nuclear Energy Association's nuclear energy public communications committee, said yesterday.

China’s installed nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 400 million kilowatts by 2060, which is the year the country has set to achieve carbon neutrality, Wang said at the 2023 China Nuclear Energy Public Communication and Exchange Conference in Shenzhen. It will account for 18 percent of the nation’s electricity, close to the average level in developed countries.

China has established and implemented a strict nuclear safety management and supervision system and the safety of the country’s nuclear power operations is the highest level in the world, the report said.

The proportion of nuclear power stations with full marks on the World Association of Nuclear Operators composite index and the average score on the index are higher than that of major nuclear energy countries such as the US, Russia, France and South Korea, it added.

China has 55 nuclear power stations in operation on the mainland, with an installed capacity of 57 million kilowatts, Wang said. There are 24 nuclear power plants under construction, with an installed capacity of 27.8 million kilowatts. There are also 79 nuclear motors under construction, the second-most in the world.

And China is expected to keep approving six to eight nuclear power stations a year for some time to come, he added.

China is promoting the use of nuclear energy in heating, steam supply and seawater desalination, and is developing small reactor technology. Wang said. This nuclear technology will be widely used and become a bigger part of people’s lives.

Editor: Kim Taylor