Datang to expand nuclear capacity

Datang International Power Generation said 9% of its electricity generating capacity will come from nuclear plants by 2015 as China promotes alternatives to coal and oil. The utility is studying between six and eight sites for reactors in China and expects to complete its first nuclear power plant by 2012, Bloomberg reported. China needs to add two reactors a year to reach a target of generating 4% of its power from nuclear energy by 2020 from about 2.3% now. The government wants to reduce reliance on coal, which is burned to produce two-thirds of the country's electricity, as part of efforts to curb pollution.