Nuclear power capacity to hit 42 gW

China's nuclear power installed capacity will hit 42 gigawatts by 2015, accounting for 10 percent of the world's total, a Chinese nuclear official predicted on Wednesday.

There will be 41 operating nuclear power units in China by 2015 or a little later, Zhang Huazhu, chairman of the China Nuclear Energy Association, told a seminar in Zhuhai city of south China's Guangdong province.

"At that time, China will be building nearly 20 extra nuclear power plants," he said at the seminar under the theme of "Nuclear Power and Environment" co-sponsored by two universities in Beijing and Hong Kong.

China now has six power plants and 15 working nuclear power units, producing nearly 3.5 percent of the world's total electricity generated by nuclear power, which also accounts for 1.85 percent of China's total electricity generation.

"With their good performances and the carefully chosen locations of the sites, China's nuclear power plants have little chance of repeating what happened in Fukushima," Zhang said, referring to the Japanese nuclear plant that was hit by massive earthquake and tsunami last year, resulting in meltdowns and the release of radioactivity.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, said in October that the country will not construct any nuclear projects in inland regions during the 2011-2015 period, but only construct a few projects in coastal areas that have gone through adequate justification processes.

All of China's six nuclear plant are located along its coast.

The State Council also stressed that China will apply the world's highest safety requirements to new nuclear power projects and adhere to third-generation nuclear safety standards in new projects.