China to become nuclear energy world leader in the 2020’s

• 11 years ago (2012-11-19)
• Junior Isles

Asia 850 Nuclear 640

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China is set to become the world's largest nuclear power generator in the near future, according to British multinational Rio Tinto’s industry analyst Stephen Wilson.

China is currently around the eighth or ninth largest nuclear energy producer, but Wilson predicts that by the end of the decade it will leap to the number two position, before finally overtaking the United States in the 2020s and producing 100 GW of power.

"Their vision is to produce 400 GW of nuclear power by 2050. That's been publicly stated by Chinese officials," Wilson told the Australian Institute of Energy national conference.

"That's more than the whole world has got today. The growth in nuclear energy in China would come from new third generation power plants that produced electricity more cheaply than coal and gas plants in coastal China," he said.

"What we are looking at in China now is a situation where it is the very early stages of a very, very significant nuclear build program," Wilson said.

Despite the gradual build up of nuclear power, Wilson said that in the near future both China and India would continue to rely heavily on coal for the bulk of their electricity needs and to keep up with growing demand.