A new generation of nuclear power stations will move closer today as the Government unveils plans to guarantee Britain’s future energy supply.

Writing in The Times, Tony Blair confirms the Government’s view that nuclear power must be part of Britain's future energy market, alongside an expansion of renewable energy.

“It is only right that we consider how nuclear power can help underpin the security of our energy supply without increasing our reliance on fossil fuels,” Mr Blair writes.

The Prime Minister presents the move as a vital step in cutting carbon emissions from traditional fossil fuels to tackle climate change, and necessary to protect Britain’s energy supplies as North Sea oil and gas runs out.

But it will provoke fierce protests from environmentalists, and some dissent within the Labour party, as critics question whether the nuclear industry could meet all the costs and highlight risks posed from disposing of nuclear waste.

The Times can reveal that work has already begun to license new nuclear power stations, even though ministers have been forced to begin another consultation on the decision alongside an Energy White Paper setting out the Government’s preliminary view.

The Health and Safety Executive, a Government agency, has received one formal application for the design of a nuclear station already and three other expressions of interest submitted for three other designs.

The move by the HSE to carry out “preparatory work” on licences is likely to provoke fresh accusations that ministers are determined to press ahead with new nuclear power plants regardless of objections or alternative views.

A new consultation process was forced on them after Greenpeace, the environmental pressure group, won a court challenge to the Government in February, claiming its initial consultation on energy policy was seriously flawed.

Despite this embarrassment, the White Paper will make clear the Government’s view that new nuclear power stations should be part of Britain’s energy supply market for the next generation.

Alistair Darling, the Trade Secretary, will not say how many new nuclear power plants are envisaged by the Government, saying it will be for power companies to come forward with plans. He has said fewer will be needed than at present, as new stations will be more efficient.

Neither will he say what proportion of Britain’s future energy supply should come from nuclear power, although he will recommit the Government to a target that, by 2020, a fifth of electricity should be from renewable sources.

There will be moves to encourage low carbon technologies, such as “clean” coal and gas power stations, regulations to phase out products that use energy inefficiently, such as standard light bulbs, by 2011, and encouragement for energy efficient homes and biofuels and hybrid cars.

The HSE has organised a group of people to assess the “licenceability” of the approaches made to it, effectively looking at whether they pass the first stage and should go on to be considered fully.

Some power companies such as EDF and E.On have been pushing for action to make the process as quick as possible after the final decision has been taken.

The HSE only has jurisdiction over the design and safety and no authority over planning issues. Its deliberations can take up to 3½ years depending on the issues it has to consider.

A spokesman for the HSE said the length of time and the uncertainty over the number of applications led to the decision to begin preliminary work now.

The Department of Trade and Industry asked the HSE to look at “prelicensing” when it launched its energy review last year. But the decision to go ahead despite the successful Greenpeace legal challenge is likely to be controversial.

A spokesman for the HSE said: “We are not prejudging, but if the decision goes the way that most people assume that it will, we will be able to move forward quickly.”

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