Beijing : China may sign as early as next year the first of several contracts for eight new nuclear reactors from Westinghouse Electric, as the government presses ahead with the world’s biggest civilian nuclear power expansion since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. China’s main nuclear power companies are moving forward with talks to buy the third-generation Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, said Timothy Collier, China managing director of the US-based company. The eight projects, including machinery and services, are expected to cost $24 billion. “We are currently in various stages of negotiations for eight new units,” Collier told Reuters. Westinghouse is majority-owned by Japan’s Toshiba and its reactors are the blueprint for China’s own nuclear technology. China currently has 20 nuclear power reactors online, with another 28 under construction, as it seeks to reduce its reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels to generate electricity. Sun Qin, chairman of major nuclear plant operator China National Nuclear Corp recently told Reuters another 20 nuclear reactors may be built within the next six years. China has vowed to more than double the installed nuclear generation capacity to 58 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the decade. Nuclear installed capacity currently stands at 15.69 GW, according to the latest official data. The eight new Westinghouse reactors will be built at four locations including Sanmen, in the coastal Zhejiang province, and Haiyang in northeastern Shandong province, where another four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors are under construction.