A NEW generation of nuclear power stations, designed to make Britain less dependent on imported gas, will move an important step forward today with the release of the Government’s long-awaited Energy Review.

The review, to be presented by Alistair Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, will conclude that nuclear power will be part of the future British generating mix.

But the report will not commit Britain to a precise number of new stations, arguing that that will be determined by the energy market, The Times has learnt.

The Government will balance its U-turn in favour of nuclear power with a promise of a big increase in energy generation from renewables such as wind, solar and tidal sources. The report will establish a target of trying to secure 20 per cent of energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

The move is designed to give long-term incentives to industry to invest in renewable energy sources, and the planning system will be changed to make it easier for offshore wind farms to be approved.

The report is likely to be given a cautious response by the Conservatives and will be opposed by several Labour MPs on the Left.

Yesterday another report warned the Government that it was in danger of rushing into the construction of plants without obtaining broad political and public support for the measure.

The Commons Trade and Industry Committee said that nuclear energy should not be given preferential treatment from government subsidies.

The Energy Review will mark a U-turn since the 2003 Energy White Paper. But it concludes that the economics of nuclear power are now more positive than at any time since then. It is thought that up to six nuclear stations are likely to be built eventually.

The review is also expected to emphasise that nuclear plants must be financed and operated by the private sector, without subsidy. It will argue that without nuclear power, Britain will become dependent on gas for 55 per cent of its energy needs by 2020 — up from 38 per cent at present — with up to 90 per cent imported from potentially unstable regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia.

With the impending closure of older nuclear and coal-fired power stations, 25 gigawatts of new electricity-generating capacity will have to be built by 2020 — the equivalent of 30 per cent of the present capacity. The gap cannot be met by renewables alone.

The report suggested yesterday that a “stable long-term carbon pricing” regime should be introduced to encourage investors to put their money into low or zero-carbon technologies, which do not add to the problem of climate change. It argued that the impending “energy gap” may not be as great as the Government assumes and said that “a full and proper assessment of the projected future generating capacity should have been conducted to inform debate before the Government undertook its review”.

It also criticised the Government for failing to build a crossparty consensus on future energy policy.

Peter Luff, the committee’s Conservative chairman, said: “It is vital that the Government’s energy policy is based on a full consideration of the evidence and has broad political and public support — otherwise, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past.

“However, the Government’s Energy Review risks being seen as little more than a rubber-stamping exercise for a decision the Prime Minister took some time ago.”

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