China has nearly tripled its nuclear capacity in 10 years

[FBaggins]

It took the U.S. nearly 40 years to add the same nuclear power capacity as China added in the last decade.



China has added more than 34 GW of nuclear power capacity in the past ten years, nearly tripling its nuclear capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The country has increased its number of operating nuclear reactors to 55 with a total net capacity of 53.2 GW, as of April 2024.

An additional 23 reactors with an estimated 23.7 GW capacity are currently under construction in China, EIA added. The United States still has the largest nuclear fleet, with 94 reactors, but it took nearly 40 years to add the same nuclear power capacity as China added in 10 years.

Many on this forum were actively arguing in 2014 that China's plans were not feasible. That nuclear reactors always took longer to build and cost most than planned - not due to opposition efforts in the US or excessive regulatory hurdles (often driven by those same anti-nukes) - but because of something inherently challenging about nuclear power itself.

This despite France's success in the area decades earlier.

[NNadir]

1. Even this late in the game, the greatest nuclear building success ever was that of the United States.

We built more than 100 nuclear reactors in less than 25 years while providing some of the lowest priced electricity in the industrial world.

Many of those reactors, many built by engineers who were very familiar with, and indeed even reliant on, slide rules continue to operate today.

Of course, we have lots and lots and lots and lots of chanting antinukes around to tell us that what has already happened is impossible, and that nuclear energy is "too expensive" but climate change leaving a planet in flames, and millions of deaths each year from air pollution aren't "too expensive."

I do believe that China will surpass the US record ultimately. Their reactor production infrastructure is functioning highly and they are also designing and building innovative reactor types.