China will definitely build more nuclear power plants

A positive report emboldens China to push ahead with its plans to source more electricity from nuclear power.

Safety revisions on 27 reactors being built have revealed no risks similar to the catastrophe that afflicted the ill-fated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan in March 2011. Zhang Guobao, chairman of the advisory committee of the National Energy Administration, said the 27 new plants are safe.

China will continue building more nuclear power plants "in a safe environment" to meet its energy demands, Zhang said.

China now has 14 nuclear power plants that produce less than 2% of all its electricity. In comparison, coal contributes some 83% of China’s electricity.

China plans to expand non-fossil fuel sources of energy to 15% by 2020, making nuclear power development inevitable in its energy mix, Zhang said.