HANGZHOU: China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGN) announced Monday that it has signed contracts with 30 private enterprises to purchase 1 billion yuan ($146 million) worth of nuclear power equipments.

All the 30 companies are based in Zhejiang.

Most of the nuclear power equipments in China are manufactured by state-owned enterprises whose capacity has become inadequate with the rapid development of the clean energy industry, Huang said.

"Our cooperation with the private sector aims not only to supplement CGN's manufacturing capacity but also to boost the development of private enterprises and forge an industrial chain," Huang said.

In addition to the 1 billion-yuan deal, the group will soon sign 4-billion-yuan worth of contracts with private enterprises in Zhejiang, Huang said.

Nuclear energy accounts for less than 2 percent of China's overall power consumption, according to Huang.