Beijing, Oct 16 (IANS): China is set to build six to eight nuclear power plants annually for the next five years and operate 110 plants by 2030, a plan authorities believe would meet the urgent need for clean energy, the media reported on Friday.

China will invest 500 billion yuan ($78 billion) on domestically-developed nuclear power plants, the China Daily reported.

Zhou Dadi, vice director of the China Energy Research Society, on Thursday said that China is capable of building and managing a large number of nuclear power plants.

"After decades of development, China boasts advanced technology and valuable experience to build more nuclear power plants," he added.

According to analysts, the country plans to increase its electricity generation capacity to 58 gigawatts by 2020, three times the 2014 level.

More than 110 nuclear power plants will be put into operation by the end of 2030, exceeding the number of plants in the US.

The urgent need for clean energy to meet increasing power demand and reduce carbon dioxide emissions has led to the renewed development of nuclear projects, a nuclear safety expert said.

Zhou added that China generates only about two percent of its total electricity from nuclear power plants while the average global proportion is 14 percent, adding that China is in a great position to develop its nuclear projects.