A Chinese state-owned energy infrastructure group has proposed a decarbonization plan that would increase the country’s use of nuclear power. The China Energy Engineering Group Co. (CEEC) is studying ways to convert retiring coal-fired power facilities into nuclear power plants, according to recent research reports.
CEEC has said its “Coal to Nuclear,” or C2N, strategy would enable new reactors to take advantage of the existing land, grid, and water access of those coal-fired plants, which would enable faster construction of new nuclear power generation resources. Government data shows China has about 1.2 TW of coal-fired power generation capacity, with about 100 GW slated for retirement in the next five years. The South China Morning Post outlined more details of the C2N plan in a September 15 report, writing “By repurposing coal plants’ established grid links, cooling systems and land, China hopes to cut costs, save time, and ease the challenge of finding suitable new sites for nuclear projects.”
The U.S. also has discussed using the infrastructure at retiring coal-fired power plants to support more nuclear power. The Biden administration’s 2022 Chips and Science Act included provisions to convert former coal plants to house reactors; the U.S. Dept. of Energy has identified more than 400 coal sites that could potentially be home to new nuclear power generation.
A retired coal-fired power plant in Wyoming is the site of one such project, where the Bill Gates-backed nuclear energy company TerraPower is pursuing a sodium-cooled fast reactor. The Natrium advanced nuclear reactor is underway with non-nuclear construction work in Kemmerer, Wyoming, near the site of the retiring coal-fired Naughton Power Plant.
China Rapidly Building More Reactors
The World Nuclear Association said China has 58 operating reactors as of mid-2025, with another 33 under construction. China has been building new reactors faster than any other country, with the government approving as many as 11 new reactors annually in recent years. China is expected to pass the U.S. as the world’s leading nuclear power generator by 2030; the U.S. at present has 94 operating reactors at 54 sites.
A project team with a CEEC subsidiary, China Power Engineering Consulting Group, led by senior engineer Li Xiaoyu, in a paper published in the Chinese language journal Southern Energy Construction in July wrote, “Given China’s vast coal-fired power capacity and the long construction timeline for nuclear plants, the C2N transition could span several decades. During this period, if breakthroughs occur in nuclear fusion technology, the future transformation of coal plants might shift from converting them into fission reactors to repurposing them for fusion power plants.”
The researchers said the initiative would support fourth-generation reactors. The group said the newer technology would likely meet more-stringent safety requirements and help bring greater public acceptance, particularly in the coastal areas that are home to much of the country’s thermal energy infrastructure. The group noted a coal-to-nuclear strategy would support China’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.
Coal-Fired Power Tops China’s Energy Mix
Coal-fired power generates more than half of China’s electricity and is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, which is why Chinese President Xi Jinping previously said he would “strictly control” the coal industry in order to “phase it down” between 2026 and 2030. It’s also why the Chinese government has pursued an aggressive buildout of cleaner renewable energy resources.
China produces most of the world’s solar panels and batteries, and also is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines, evidence supported by the large number of China-based companies exhibiting at the RE+ renewable energy trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this month. Industry analysts have said China in 2024 invested $940 billion into its renewable energy sector.
A recent report from the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said China was operating its highest number of coal-fired units in the first half of this year than at any time since 2016, even with a massive buildout of wind and solar energy. Global Energy Monitor, a U.S.-based energy analytics company, said China brought 21 GW of coal-fired power into service in the first six months of this year. The percentage of coal-fired power in the country’s energy mix has declined, though, as more renewable energy resources are brought online.
Rapid Reactor Construction
The fast pace of Chinese nuclear reactor construction is in contrast to the U.S. The most-recent large-scale U.S. nuclear power project—a two-unit expansion at Plant Vogtle in Georgia—took more than a decade to complete. Industry analysts have said China averages about seven years to build a new reactor. At least one project—the Hualong One reactor that entered commercial operation in December 2024—was completed in just more than five years, according to reports.
The CEEC study noted that China’s densely populated eastern coast would be a prime site for the coal-to-nuclear conversions. The eastern part of China has high demand for electricity, and also less available land for new power plant construction. Much of China’s renewable energy builds are happening in the more-open western part of the country, with miles-long transmission infrastructure carrying that power east.
Another research paper published in the same issue of Southern Energy Construction said advanced reactors such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) could be a good option to replace coal-fired units. The research, from the East China Electric Power Design Institute, said HTGRs would need a smaller area of land for safety zones, and also would require less water than existing coal plants. The group said the parameters of HTGRs also would be easier to integrate into existing infrastructure, because the technology aligns more closely with existing coal plant steam systems.
The CEEC team in its report wrote, “Social factors have become one of the key influences on infrastructure development in China. Public acceptance of nuclear energy and concerns about its safety directly affect decision-making by governments and enterprises. Establishing transparent communication mechanisms and enhancing public engagement and education to improve societal acceptance of nuclear power would be crucial to C2N.”
The researchers in their report said a 600-MW HTGR could be placed at an existing coal plant with little need for more land. The group said the safety features of an HTGR, including the ability to mitigate a meltdown with active cooling, would mean emergency planning also could be streamlined.
China’s National Energy Administration in January 2024 announced commercial operation of an HTGR—what officials called the first Generation IV reactor in service worldwide—at Shidao Bay. That HTR-PM (high-temperature reactor with pebble med modules) uses helium as a coolant and graphite as a moderator. Officials said “the design employs heat-resistant ceramic-coated particle nuclear fuel elements, such as graphite-coated balls. It is deemed suitable for various applications, including power generation and high-temperature process heat.”
Thorium-based molten salt reactors also were mentioned as part of the C2N plan. China already operates the world’s first thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR-LF1) in the Gobi Desert, using molten salt as both fuel and coolant. That project features an experimental 2-MW reactor that began operating last year. Government reports have said China plans to operate a 60-MW thorium-based reactor in the Gobi Desert by 2029.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
