China will prioritize the development of hydropower and optimize thermal power generation under its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for the energy sector, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday.

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The wording regarding nuclear development has changed since the release of the draft plan from "greatly promote nuclear power" to "efficiently develop nuclear power", according to the newspaper report.

Under the plan, China will also actively promote the development of other new energy sources in addition to hydropower and nuclear power. The country will also develop concentrated natural-gas-powered electricity generation.

In addition, China plans to continue to focus on decentralizing power generation, developing small-scale energy supplies suited to local geographical conditions.

The plan has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economy planning agency, said Ouyang Changyu, the vice general manager of the China Electricity Council. He added the final version will be officially issued within this year.