en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 6, the National Energy Administration released the "China Nuclear Power Development Report (2026)." The report shows that as of the end of 2025, China had a total of 112 nuclear power units in operation and approved for construction, with a total installed capacity of 125 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world.

Among them, 59 nuclear power units are in operation with an installed capacity of 62.48 million kilowatts, ranking third globally; 53 nuclear power units have been approved for construction with an installed capacity of 62.93 million kilowatts, and the scale of nuclear power engineering construction has ranked first in the world for 19 consecutive years.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China approved a total of 46 nuclear power units with a total installed capacity of 54.5 million kilowatts, and newly commissioned 11 nuclear power units with an installed capacity of 12.45 million kilowatts.

In 2025, China commissioned 1 new nuclear power unit, namely Unit 2 of the "Guohe No. 1" demonstration project; and approved the construction of 10 new nuclear power units with a total installed capacity of 12.1 million kilowatts, involving Units 5 and 6 of Zhejiang Sanmen, Units 5 and 6 of Shandong Haiyang, Units 1 and 2 of Fujian Xiapu, Units 3 and 4 of Guangdong Taishan, and Units 5 and 6 of Guangxi Fangchenggang.

Nuclear power generation continued to grow. In 2025, the national nuclear power generation reached 485.2 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, accounting for 4.6% of the country's total power generation and 11.4% of non-fossil energy power generation. The average utilization hours of nuclear power units nationwide reached 7,809 hours, an increase of 126 hours year-on-year, with an average load factor of 89.1%.

By region, nuclear power generation in Fujian Province accounted for 28.1% of the province's total power generation, while the proportions in Liaoning, Hainan, and Guangdong were 20.9%, 18.5%, and 16.9%, respectively.

In terms of safe operation, China's operating nuclear power units maintained safe and stable operation in 2025, with no operational events at or above Level 1 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, no general or above radiation accidents, and no general or above sudden environmental events involving radioactive effluents or conventional pollutant emissions.

Statistics from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) show that as of the end of 2025, the average composite index of the 56 nuclear power units included in the statistics in China reached 98.7, with a total of 43 units achieving full marks, both ranking first globally.

In terms of scientific and technological innovation, the "Hualong No. 1" third-generation pressurized water reactor technology has entered the batch construction stage, with a total of 4 "Hualong No. 1" units at Fujian Fuqing and Guangxi Fangchenggang having been fully completed and put into operation. The "Guohe No. 1" demonstration project has been fully completed, and the Shandong Shidao Bay high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power demonstration project has been put into commercial operation, becoming the world's first commercial demonstration power plant of fourth-generation nuclear power technology.

Meanwhile, the 2 MW thermal power liquid-fuel thorium molten salt experimental reactor achieved the first thorium-uranium nuclear fuel conversion, the 1200 MW electric power commercial sodium-cooled fast reactor completed its standard design, and the Hainan Changjiang "Linglong No. 1" small modular reactor demonstration project is progressing steadily.

The comprehensive utilization scenarios of nuclear energy are also continuously expanding. Shandong Haiyang's "Warm Nuclear No. 1" completed its 7th heating season task, providing clean heating to residents in urban areas such as Haiyang and Rushan. At present, the total heating area of 4 nuclear energy heating projects nationwide has exceeded 19.75 million square meters.

Since the "Heqi No. 1" at Jiangsu Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant was put into operation a year ago, it has delivered more than 3.17 million tons of clean steam to the Lianyungang petrochemical industry base, equivalent to reducing the combustion of 264,200 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 706,600 tons.

In terms of industrial development, the level of independent controllability of China's nuclear power industry chain and supply chain has continued to improve, with the domestic localization rate of equipment for new nuclear power projects exceeding 90%. In 2025, investment completed in various nuclear power projects under construction reached approximately 161 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%; nuclear power sales revenue reached 172 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%.

According to the report's estimates, China's nuclear power generation in 2025 was equivalent to replacing 148 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 387 million tons.

From a global perspective, as of the end of 2025, there were 414 operating nuclear power units worldwide, distributed across 31 countries; and 86 nuclear power units approved for construction, distributed across 15 countries.

The report believes that China's nuclear power will continue to be in an important period of development opportunities in the future. The construction of coastal nuclear power will continue to be steadily and orderly advanced, the batch, standardized, modular, and intelligent construction capabilities of nuclear power will be further improved, and the application space of nuclear energy in multi-purpose scenarios such as clean heating and industrial steam supply will also continue to expand.

The original text is as follows:

China Nuclear Power Development Report 2026.pdf (5.44 M)