The government's ongoing nuclear power development plan (2011-2020) was amended by the State Council in October, 2012, making the country's installed capacity target 40 million kW by 2015, with 20 million kW under construction.

Those two figures will reach 58 million kW and 30 million kW, respectively, by 2020, meaning a sharp rise in investment is likely.

"From now until 2020, China will start building five to six new nuclear power units every year. That needs annual spending of more than 100 billion yuan ($16.67 billion)," said Xu Yuming, deputy secretary-general of the China Nuclear Energy Association.

Xu predicts the country will then build another six to eight nuclear power units every year until 2030, bringing its gross installed nuclear power capacity to 200 million kW, which is then likely to account for more than 10 percent of the country's total power needs.

To cut its carbon emissions, China is also vowing to generate a fifth of its power from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, against a current 10 percent, placing nuclear at the center of those plans.

Guo Hongbo, a spokesman for the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp, told Xinhua News Agency in May, however, that the research and development of core nuclear power technology remained a main obstacle.

lyang@chinadaily.com.cn