Analysis: China’s nuclear power capacity nearly doubled in 10 years

China's nuclear power capacity has increased from 31.4 gigawatts in 2016 to 58.7 GW in May-an 87 percent increase in the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The EIA's analysis of China's nuclear power growth was based on information gathered by the agency, as well as data from the World Bank, Global Energy Monitor, Global Nuclear Power Tracker, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was published on June 5.

Key takeaways: The analysis brief provided additional details on China's nuclear power growth, including the following:

• From 2016 to 2024, China's nuclear generation capacity increased by 24 GW, or 76 percent.
• China added 1.1 GW of additional nuclear power capacity in 2025 and has added another 2.2 GW this year. With the 2025 and 2026 numbers, China's capacity has grown by 27.3 GW since 2016.
• As of May, China has 60 operational reactors, and another 36 currently under construction. The reactors now under construction will add an additional 38.9 GW of capacity.
• The country's new nuclear construction accounts for more than 49 percent of global nuclear construction.
• Most of China's power reactors are located along the Pacific Ocean coastline, and most are pressurized water reactors.
• Between 2012 and 2021, the average build time for reactors in China was six years, compared with the global average of nine years.
• Among China's notable new nuclear projects is the 100-MWe Linglong One PWR, which is scheduled to be operational this year.

Reactions: China's nuclear power growth caught the attention of Rep. Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.), who brought up the topic and the EIA analysis at the June 9 hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy. He called China's growth "impressive" but noted that the United States added 80 GW of nuclear power in 14 years as recently as 30 years ago.

"Given our urgent energy security and power needs, we should work to return to that pace-six new reactors a year or more," Guthrie said at the hearing. Nuclear permitting reform was the main topic of discussion at last week's hearing, in the form of six pieces of proposed legislation.

"We're racing against the clock. China certainly isn't worried about unnecessary barriers. We need to modernize our process," added ClearPath Action CEO Jeremy Harrell, one of the witnesses at the hearing.