The Czech Republic is to scale back its nuclear energy ambitions, the industry minister said Wednesday in a newspaper interview.

"It wouldn't be realistic to produce up to 80 percent of electricity by way of nuclear power," Martin Kuba told Hospodarske Noviny.

"And there isn't enough room (in the Czech Republic) to build new nuclear power plants," he added.

The pro-nuclear Czech government had earlier suggested it might aim to boost nuclear energy to cover over 80 percent of the country's needs by 2060.

Run by state-controlled power giant CEZ, two nuclear power plants -- Temelin and Dukovany -- currently produce one-third of the total Czech power output.

Nuclear power output is expected to rise to 50 percent after two new reactors are added to the Temelin plant, which lies about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Prague.

Neighbouring non-nuclear Austria, and Germany, which is renouncing nuclear power, have expressed concern over the building of new plants in the Czech Republic.

A report on the country's energy strategy is expected to be released in June.