The newspaper quoted the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) as saying that the new plants will help achieve the country's goal of having 40 gigawatts of installed nuclear capacity by 2020, accounting for 4% of national generating capacity.
China's existing 11 nuclear plants have combined installed capacity of 9.1 gigawatts, about 1.3% of the total. In comparison, coal-fired plants, a major source of carbon emissions, account for about 84% output.
With four nuclear plants under construction, in addition to the nine planned plants, the scale of nuclear building in China is "unprecedented," CAEA official Song Gongbao said.
"This shows China's focus is clearly on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving sustainable development," the daily quoted the official as saying.
