Slowing down

An industry group has suggested China will scale back its nuclear power ambitions, putting more emphasis on safety in the wake of Japan's tsunami-driven nuclear crisis, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The official China Daily newspaper and others quoted an official with the China Electricity Council as saying the country should scale back its plans by about 15 percent, particularly on plants planned for the country's inland regions.

"The industry is likely to miss our earlier prediction of achieving 40 gW of nuclear capacity by 2015," the newspaper quoted CEC deputy director Wei Zhaofeng as saying.

The ruling State Council has already put plans on ice after Japan's disaster, suspending new approvals and plant construction to allow time for a full safety review. The reports Tuesday suggested that overall plans to scale up nuclear power in China on a vast scale may be scaled down. Nuclear power has been an important component of China's plans to clean up air pollution and reduce reliance on coal.