China's nuclear buildout, explained

China had 37 nuclear power reactors under construction with a combined 39,952 megawatts electric (MWe) of net capacity on Oct. 15, 2026, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). That construction pipeline, alongside 60 operating reactors, gives China the world's largest active nuclear build programme and a substantial route to adding firm electricity supply.

Key facts

• China had 37 reactors under construction with 39,952 MWe net capacity on Oct. 15, 2026.
• The country had 60 operating reactors with 58,721 MWe net capacity on the same date.
• Nuclear power supplied 4.6% of China's electricity in 2025, or 438.6 terawatt-hours.
• As of May 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration counted 36 Chinese reactors under construction across 19 sites, representing about 38.9 GW.

What China's buildout includes

China's programme is not a single reactor project or a single design. It is a multi-site pipeline led by large pressurized-water reactors, with domestically developed models and variants of designs developed through international cooperation. The IAEA's Power Reactor Information System tracks individual units and reports their construction status, capacity and milestone history. Its country profile provides the latest aggregate snapshot, while unit records make it possible to distinguish a reactor that has just started construction from one approaching operation.

The October 2026 IAEA profile shows 37 units being constructed. The change from the 36 units in the Energy Information Administration's May snapshot reflects different reporting dates; it is not evidence of a sudden single-month jump. The IAEA page also records 60 operating units and 58,721 MWe of net capacity. Together, the figures describe both the current fleet and the scale of projects still to be completed.

The construction list includes several reactor families. Hualong One, also known as HPR1000, is a Chinese pressurized-water design deployed by China General Nuclear (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). CAP1000 is China's adaptation of the U.S.-designed AP1000. Other projects use VVER-1200 technology. This mix reflects a programme that built domestic engineering capacity over time while retaining projects based on foreign-origin designs.

China has also started building its first small modular reactor, the ACP100, branded Linglong One. The EIA describes it as a domestically designed 100 MWe pressurized-water reactor intended for electricity generation, desalination and district heating. It is a much smaller unit than the roughly gigawatt-scale reactors that dominate the national construction pipeline, so it is a distinct demonstration rather than a replacement for large plants.

What the numbers mean

The construction count is a measure of projects in progress, not a forecast of when the electricity will reach the grid. Units still need to complete construction, commissioning and regulatory steps before commercial operation. Timelines can vary by site and unit, even where multiple reactors share a design or are built at one location.

China's operating fleet has grown alongside construction. EIA's analysis says capacity rose 76%, or 24 GW, between 2016 and 2024. PRIS records another 1.1 GW added in 2025 and 2.2 GW in the first five months of 2026. Those additions help explain why the operating fleet total and construction pipeline should be read separately: one measures generation capacity already in service, the other projects that may add capacity later.

Nuclear remains a minority source of Chinese electricity. The IAEA profile reports a 4.6% nuclear share in 2025, despite 438.6 TWh of generation. That share provides useful context for the large construction total. New reactors expand a sizeable low-carbon source, but they do not make China's electricity system predominantly nuclear; coal, hydro, wind, solar and other sources continue to shape the wider mix.

Background

NNN has covered specific milestones in the programme, including China's approval of eight reactors at four sites and the first nuclear-island concrete pour at Bailong 2. These stories show how national totals emerge from separate approvals and construction starts. For a wider view of reactor projects and small modular reactors around the world, see NNN's new-builds and SMRs hub.

The scale of China's pipeline attracts attention because it is concentrated in one country and spread across many projects. But simple rankings can obscure important differences: an approved unit is not yet under construction, and a unit under construction is not yet generating electricity. The IAEA status categories make those distinctions explicit. They also allow analysts to compare operational capacity with construction capacity without treating planned or proposed projects as committed output.

The figures in this explainer are dated snapshots. The IAEA profile displays data as of Oct. 15, 2026, while the EIA's analysis uses PRIS data through May for its year-to-date additions. Country totals can change when units enter construction or connect to the grid, and reporting systems may update on different schedules. For current project-level status, PRIS's individual reactor records should take precedence over an older country summary.

What's next

The next changes to watch are unit-level milestones: construction starts, major commissioning tests and grid connections. Each event changes the status of a particular project, but the national balance shifts only as the IAEA updates the country dataset. China’s two 2026 grid connections reported by PRIS through May, Sanao-1 and Taipingling-1, illustrate the distinction between building capacity and operating capacity.

For now, the clearest baseline is the IAEA's Oct. 15 profile: 60 operating reactors and 37 under construction. Future comparisons should use a consistent source and date, and should keep net capacity separate from project counts. That makes it easier to see whether the construction pipeline is translating into completed plants and electricity generation.