The Government today gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations, arguing that evidence for the move was "compelling". The Business Secretary John Hutton told MPs he was inviting energy companies to bring forward plans to build and operate new nuclear power plants.

With a third of the UK's generating capacity coming offline within the next 20 years, and increasing reliance on imported energy, it was clear that investment was needed in a range of new infrastructure, the minister said. He also published an Energy Bill signalling greater deployment of renewable energy and increased investment in carbon capture and storage as well as offshore gas infrastructure.

"The Government believes it is in the public interest that new nuclear power stations should have a role to play in this country's future energy mix alongside other low-carbon sources, that it would be in the public interest to allow energy companies the option of investing in new nuclear power stations and that the Government should take active steps to open up the way to the construction of new nuclear power stations.

"It will be for energy companies to fund, develop and build new nuclear power stations in the UK, including meeting the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs," said Mr Hutton.

The long awaited but expected announcement was criticised by environmental campaigners, who are threatening legal action over the Government's consultation about nuclear power.

Mr Hutton said: "Giving the go ahead today that new nuclear power should play a role in providing the UK with clean, secure and affordable energy is in our country's vital long term interest.

"Set against the challenges of climate change and security of supply, the evidence in support of new nuclear power stations is compelling. We should positively embrace the opportunity of delivering this important part of our energy policy."

The Government said the Energy Bill included measures to ensure adequate funding provision was made by potential developers of new nuclear power stations, drive greater and more rapid deployment of renewables, create the framework for investment in carbon capture and storage, which ministers said had the potential to reduce the carbon emissions from fossil fuel power stations by up to 90%, and enable investment in new offshore gas infrastructure projects.

The minister told MPs: "Nuclear power has provided us with safe and secure supplies of electricity for half a century. It is one of the very few proven low carbon technologies which can provide baseload electricity. Nuclear power currently provides us with around 19% of our electricity.

"Nuclear power will help us meet our twin energy challenges - ensuring secure supplies and tackling climate change."

Mr Hutton said a continuing role for nuclear power would contribute to the diversity of the UK's energy supplies and help meet emissions reduction targets. "Every new nuclear power station will save the same amount of carbon emissions that are generated from around one million households. "The entire lifecycle emissions of nuclear - that's from uranium mining through to waste management - are only between two and six per cent of those from gas for every unit of electricity generated.

"Nuclear power will reduce the costs of meeting our energy goals. "Analysis of future gas and carbon price scenarios shows nuclear is affordable and provides one of the cheapest electricity options available to reduce our carbon emissions. "Our energy suppliers recognise this and that, in a world of carbon prices and high fossil fuel prices, nuclear power makes commercial sense. "I do not intend to set some sort of artificial cap on the proportion of electricity the UK should be able to generate either from nuclear power or from any other source of low carbon energy.

"That would not be consistent with our long term national interest, and given that nuclear power is a tried and tested, safe and secure form of low carbon technology, it would be wrong in principle to rule it out now from playing any role in the UK's energy future."

(By Alan Jones, The Independent, 10/01/2008)