Guangdong is expected to start construction of three nuclear power plants this year, including the biggest such energy project on the country's drawing board, the Yangjiang power station, a China Business News report said.

The Yangjiang plant would cover 472,485 square meters in western Guangdong and feature six generating units with capacities of at least 1 million kilowatts each. The first two generating reactor will begin generating power around 2012 while the remaining units will come on line in 15 to 20 years.

Another power project planned to be started this year is the Yaogu nuclear power plant in Taishan, which was originally scheduled to start in 2010.

Authorities had already signaled that work would begin this year on the Lingdong nuclear power plant, the second phase of the existing Ling'ao plant. It will have two generating units, each with an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts.

Guangdong has two nuclear plants, the Daya Bay and Ling'ao reactors, with a combined production capacity of 4 million kilowatts.

The output of the province's nuclear projects is expected to rise to 15 million kilowatts and produce more than 20 percent of its power production when the three new reactors are operational.

Cheng Jiansan, a deputy director from the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, said nuclear plants contributed about 8 percent of the total amount of electricity consumed in the province each year and that figure was expected to rise to about 15 percent in the future.

Editor: Yan