China to restart nuclear plant construction

China has ended its one year moratorium on building new nuclear plants imposed after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear accident.

China will resume “steadily” building new nuclear power plants as part of plans to reduce reliance on oil and coal. Only a small number of plants will be built, and only in coastal areas, according to the Cabinet.

The plants will meet the most stringent safety standards, it said. China currently has 15 nuclear reactors that provide about 12.5 gigawatts of generating capacity. It has 26 reactors under construction that will add a further 30 GW.

No date was given for resuming construction of nuclear plants, however. China is the world's biggest energy consumer, and building nuclear power plants is a key part of its plans to curb demand for fossil fuels.

The government said it hopes to generate 30% of China's power from solar, wind and other renewable sources, and from nuclear energy, by the end of 2015. That's up from an earlier target of 15% from renewables plus 5 percent from nuclear by 2020.

The Cabinet also approved plans on nuclear power safety and development that said construction of nuclear power plants would resume "steadily." Nuclear power accounts for only 1.8 percent of power in China, it said.

The government also said that China is now 90% energy self-sufficient, but acknowledged high demand will continue to put a strain on resources.