The three power stations will be located in Xian'ning, Hubei Province, Taohuajiang, Hunan Province and Pengze, Jiangxi Province
- By Mark McFadden -
China has begun the design and construction of three inland nuclear power stations as part of its effort to boost economic growth in the vast inland areas, said Wang Binghua, chairman of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The three power stations will be located in Xian'ning, Hubei Province, Taohuajiang, Hunan Province and Pengze, Jiangxi Province.
At present, all the country's power stations are located along the coast.
Ye Qizhen, deputy director of the science and technology committee of the China National Nuclear Corp and member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, said nuclear power stations play an important role in helping alleviate energy shortages and pollution in China and are necessary for boosting economic growth in inland areas, especially those lacking coal and water resources.
He also said by 2020 China is expected to have an installed nuclear power capacity of 70 million kW, which will account for 7% of its overall power capacity.
China now operates 11 nuclear power generators that have a combined capacity of 9.1 million kW. There are 12 newly-approved units under construction that will have a combined capacity of 34.76 million kW.