Government publishes list of new nuclear sites

The government's plans to build a new fleet of nuclear reactors took a major step forward today with the publication of a list of 11 potential sites.

EDF Energy, which last year acquired UK nuclear energy developer British Energy in a £12.5bn deal, led the way nominating five new sites for development at Hartlepool, Heysham, Dungeness, Hinkley Poin and Sizewell. Meanwhile, RWE nominated sites at Kirksanton and Braystones, as well as at Wylfa Peninsular, which it nominated alongside the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The NDA also nominated Sellafield and Bradwell for further development and tabled plans for a new site at Oldbury, alongside energy giant E.ON.

The government has vetted each of the sites and concluded they are viable, could home new reactors by 2025 and be appropriately promoted to local communities as potential sites.

Members of the public now have a month to comment on the proposed sites as part of the government's latest round of consultation. A spokeswoman for DECC explained that feedback from the public would help shape the final list of new sites alongside input from the government's own advisors.

The consultation is running parallel to the NDA's ongoing auction of sites at Oldbury, Wylfa and Bradwell, which have reportedly already attracted bids of over £200m. Under the rules of the auction, it will remain open to bids until 24 hours passes without a bid being received on a site.

A spokesman for E.ON confirmed the company had nominated the Oldbury site but was still in a competitive bidding process to acquire the land. Simlarly, RWE is still bidding for the proposed Wylfa site.

Climate change and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband welcomed the shortlist as an "important step towards a new generation of nuclear power stations". He urged interested parties to take part in the consultation, which will be followed by a further consultation process following the publication of the final list of sites.

He also reiterated the government's intention to build a new fleet of reactors, arguing that "nuclear power is part of the low-carbon future for Britain", and has the potential to "offer thousands of jobs to the UK and multi-million pound opportunities to British businesses".

However, in an indication of the level of opposition to the new sites the government can expect, Friends of the Earth immediately condemned the shortlist, arguing that the plans for new reactors would undermine investment in renewable energy.

"Nuclear power leaves a deadly legacy of radioactive waste that remains highly dangerous for tens of thousands of years and costs tens of billions of pounds to manage," said Robin Webster, Energy campaigner at the lobby group. " And building new reactors would divert precious resources from developing safe, clean renewable power: nuclear firms are already lobbying ministers to water down UK renewable energy targets."