Nuclear energy is back on the agenda in Britain – and uranium stocks will feel the benefit. The BBC reports that up to 14 new power plants could be commissioned, while 23 existing plants are to be replaced.

In Taipan Daily, Irwin Greenstein examines another country looking to uranium as a source of clean energy, with potentially significant implications for the market:

The current decline in uranium prices gives these China super-traders a critical inflection point to pick up the slack and clean up the environment.

China could benefit greatly from plunging uranium prices… as well as investors who take a long-term position in China’s growth.

Uranium futures contracts through the end of this year are trading in the mid $60 range. By comparison, U308 uranium was priced at about $140 per pound as early as January of this year.

The steep decline in uranium could be just what the Chinese need to make their move before manufacturers start moving out entirely to countries such as Vietnam.

There is a growing sense of urgency to corner the uranium market.

This stealth team of Chinese traders is armed with a $300-billion war chest to grab up every last ounce of U308 uranium. And if anyone can pull this off, it’s the Chinese.

Unlike gold, oil or copper, there’s no regulated trading exchange for U308. You can’t buy an ETF for it. U308 moves in a near-underground economy of secretive auctions where uranium trading is fast and furious.

The absence of a regulated trading exchange gives an enormous advantage to a stealth team of Chinese traders instructed by the government to track down every last pound of U308.

This crackerjack team is headed by a cabinet-level rising star who is chauffeured around Beijing in a big, black Audi. He sports a cigarette holder like FDR and is considered one of China’s top economist.

Under his brilliant supervision, the Chinese uranium traders will draw on a war chest of $300 billion in U.S dollars. That amount is nearly twice the size of the world’s largest mutual fund. It’s about six times bigger than the legendary Magellan Fund. And it’s bigger than the world’s top four mutual funds combined.

Over the next 15 years, China plans on building 30 new nuclear reactors. Without those critical reactors, the country’s environment and economy could be heading straight for the dumpster.

China desperately needs another 23,000 megawatts to maintain its nonstop growth.

And 23,000 megawatts is a massive amount of electricity. It’s how much New York City lost during the great blackout of 2003, when 19 million New Yorkers were plunged into darkness and the city was dead in the water.

That’s why China is committed to shelling out $50 billion on 30 nuclear power plants. The country must make the leap from 8.7 million kilowatts today to 40 million kilowatts by 2020. It’s the most ambitious nuclear power expansion in history.

For investors interested in China, the move to nuclear energy is great news. It means that China will overcome its energy problems — removing another obstacle to long-term growth.