SHANGHAI -- China is likely to resume approval of nuclear power plants this year and to continue the development of this energy source in inland areas, despite concerns over safety, according to an industry leader with close ties to the government.

This new expectation comes a year after Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which shocked the world with its life-threatening radiation releases and kicked nuclear power out of future energy plans in nations like Germany. China also suspended its new project approval and ordered safety checks for all existing plants. But now, that suspension is starting to loosen.

"The safety check is over ... and problems found on the way are already solved or are required to be solved within three years," said Wang Binghua, president of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., in a press conference Saturday in Beijing.

"I think the Chinese government will restart approving nuclear power projects this year," continued Wang, whose company is controlled by the State Council, China's Cabinet.

Wang's words are not the only signal that China is getting ready to walk out of the shadows of the Fukushima disaster. Earlier this month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called the nation to "develop nuclear power safely and efficiently" in his 2012 government work report -- though few details have been unveiled on how to do so.

The government is now revising its development guidelines for nuclear power, "setting a goal, which is for sure bigger than the previous target of installations," Qian Zhimin, deputy director of the National Energy Administration, was cited by state media as saying last week. Previously, China set to install 40 gigawatts of nuclear reactors by 2020. The country now operates nearly 12 GW.

Opposition to inland plants

Much of China's future nuclear power growth appears likely to happen inland, where no nuclear project has yet to be built. Local governments in cities and provinces, from Chongqing in the southwest to Jilin in the northeast, reportedly plan to add nuclear into their energy mix. Nuclear plants would help ease China's heavy reliance on coal for power generation, yet such moves would confront rising public opposition.

He Zuoxiu, a physicist in the Chinese Academy of Sciences who helped develop China's first atomic bomb during the 1960s, wrote in an op-ed published last month in a local newspaper that "China has to immediately stop building any inland nuclear power plants," as regions in the interior face potential risks such as lacking sufficiently reliable water supplies to cool down nuclear reactors during droughts.

In central China's Pengze county, which is supposed to build the nation's first inland nuclear power plant, protests were sparked during the past few months as residents there accused the project planners of using inaccurate data as well as manipulating public opinion polling.

But Wang, of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., whose subsidiary chose the site for the disputed power plant, dismissed those accusations in the press conference.

Wang also said that the nation will continue developing inland nuclear power plants, especially in central China, which is short on energy resources but has strong electricity demand.

Although China has yet to build any inland nuclear projects, Wang noted that the industry is ready to provide the needed technologies, which can meet even stricter operation standards than existing nuclear power plants on the coast.