Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    BEIJING, Feb. 16 -- The deepening financial crisis has put China's energy industry in a tougher situation: energy demand is dwindling, production is sagging, stockpiles are rising, and energy companies are competing to cut prices. Meanwhile, the nation's giant oil and electricity firms are losing money by a large margin.　

    However, the temporary energy glut will not stop China from expanding energy output: it needs more when its economy starts to recover.

    This simple fact means that the nation's energy watchdog is well prepared for the upturn in economic development.

    China recently decided to step up the construction of nuclear power stations, wind farms and solar power stations. This is a welcome policy change in this coal-dependent country as it will help restructure the nation's energy mix and offer more green jobs for floods of laid-off workers.

    As part of China's stimulus package to revive its economy, National Energy Administration Director Zhang Guobao announced that the nation plans to work on "at least" four nuclear power stations in 2009.

    His announcement came after China launched construction of three nuclear power stations in October last year. This really is a U-turn in power policy compared to the past three decades, when China built less than 10 nuclear power plants in coastal areas.

    This change is being promoted by the economic downturn and China's growing ownership of key technologies in nuclear power construction. Further boosting the development of nuclear power, according to Zhang, is an important way for China to restructure its energy mix.

    Compared with coal-fired, which now accounts for over two-thirds of the country's power generation, nuclear energy is more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. China is aiming to have a nuclear power capacity of 60 gigawatts by 2020, a 50 percent jump from the earlier target outlined in its energy blueprint.

    The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, is considering revising the target in its medium- and long-term plan (2005-20) in the first quarter of 2009 and submitting the revised plan to the State Council.

    According to the earlier plan for the industry, China would increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2020, accounting for 4 percent of the nation's total power capacity. China currently has only 9 GW of nuclear power capacity, or about 1.3 percent of its total.