Nuclear power to make "significant contribution"
Industry secretary Alistair Darling told MPs nuclear power needed to be part of the mix of energy supply for the UK over the next 40 years.
The Conservatives say nuclear power should only be a "last resort". The Liberal Democrats accuse ministers of "surrendering" to the nuclear lobby.
Tony Blair says new nuclear power stations will reduce future reliance on imports and help tackle climate change.
In a Commons statement on the Energy Review, Mr Darling said: "The government has concluded that new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals.
"It would be for the private sector to initiate, fund, construct and operate new nuclear plants and cover the costs of decommissioning and their full share of long term waste management costs."
"Safety and security" would be "paramount" with nuclear plants, he promised.
"Nuclear does mean we can generate electricity without carbon emissions. It does provide a consistency of energy which wind power cannot," he said.
Mr Darling stressed that "a mix of energy supply is essential and we should not be over dependent on one source".
The plans would help meet the government's target of cutting carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, he said.
And they would ensure the UK had secure energy supplies rather than relying increasingly on foreign gas imports.
The review also proposes:
That electricity companies provide 20% of energy from renewables - up from the current 15%
Storing carbon dioxide in old oil fields - the UK is working with Norway to develop this
New incentives to make homes more energy efficient and to cut energy waste by businesses
Measures to cut the 7% of electricity currently used by domestic appliances left on standby
Encouraging smaller scale electricity generators, and combined heat and power plants, to be sited close to where the power is used
For the Conservatives, shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan said Mr Darling's statement contained "no real policies, no real action, no real decisions".
He said the review showed Mr Blair was "out on a limb" in his backing for new nuclear power stations - a position, he claimed, that was not shared by the Cabinet.
Fresh look
Edward Davey, the Lib Dems' trade and industry spokesman, warned: "By caving into the nuclear industry lobby, you have destroyed the possibility of cross-party consensus."
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said it was "a colossal mistake" to head down the nuclear path again.
"We need a solution to the climate change that protects the environment rather than threatens it, and one that does not literally cost the earth," said Mr Livingstone.
It's not a question of either/or - it's everything that's got to be done to make a difference
Tony Blair
Key points: Energy Review Support for small and green
Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor said: "Alistair Darling has today led the UK down a dirty and dangerous path, that of a fresh round of astronomically expensive nuclear power stations."
An Energy White Paper in 2003 said better efficiency and investment in renewable forms of energy was the way ahead for the UK.
But the prime minister ordered a policy review last November, saying a fresh look was needed at how the UK could ensure it had a secure energy supply and meet its targets for fighting global warming.
The review has been criticised for purely "rubber stamping" Mr Blair's own wish for developing nuclear.
But the prime minister told BBC Two's Newsnight: "If we're going to go from being self-sufficient in gas to importing it, if prices are rising, if we know that climate change is an even more serious problem than we thought a few years ago, how can we take nuclear out of the mix?"
During a visit to an offshore wind farm near Whitstable, Kent, Mr Blair said he wanted to see renewables grow by five times in the next 15 years.
"It's not a question of either/or - it's everything that's got to be done to make a difference," he said.
HAVE YOUR SAY Nuclear will cost us billions of pounds that can be better spent on a massive nationwide renewables program.
Rob, London
Send us your comments
As well as opposition from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the nuclear power proposals have also come under fire from a number of Labour MPs.
Former environment minister Michael Meacher asked: "Why are we going down the nuclear route at all? Nuclear is more expensive and decommissioning costs are enormous."
Members of SERA, the Labour environment campaign, said nuclear power could not contribute to tackling climate change over the next 10 years.
The  has given permission for new  to be built in the United Kingdom. This decision follows months of public debate and controversy over the proposal. Many Britons have argued for greater use of renewable energy supplies, but the government has said that even with a big increase in investment, renewable sources will not meet all of the UK's additional energy demands. It is expected that 25 GW of additional generating capacity will be required over the next two decades, partly as compensation for old nuclear stations which will be closed down. This additional capacity must be met while reducing overall greenhouse gas emission as per the .

The government also announced big increases in spending on renewable energy research and for the construction of onshore wind farms. It is claimed that 20% of energy will be produced from renewables by 2020, and if there are new breakthroughs in renewable energy science this figure may be increased further. Philip Wolfe of the Renewable Energy Association (REA) told the BBC "The government has seen the light on renewables. The energy review supports what we and many others have been consistently saying - that renewables, energy efficiency and decentralised systems are the strongest prospects for secure and sustainable energy supplies." 

The new nuclear plants will cost 400-500 million UK pounds (700-900 million US dollars) and will generate 1.5 to 2 GW of power each. These will provide the baseline amount of additional power should there be a lack of success in new areas of renewable energy research. The private sector will initiate, fund, construct and operate the new nuclear plants and will cover the full cost of decommissioning and their full share of long-term waste management costs. The Government proposes to address potential barriers to new nuclear stations, but says it will not provide any taxpayer money for the nuclear industry - tax investment will only be put into renewable energy research. This approach is similar to the successful approach adopted in the USA. It contrasts with early UK nuclear power development, where individual power plants or small groups of plants were planned and built by separate publicly funded research and engineering groups, but there was poor planning of nationwide issues such as waste management. Critics argue that the government has only put the nuclear option on the table as it is privately run and does not require government investment, whereas increasing renewable energy production would cost taxpayer money.

The review also discusses energy self-sufficiency, and points out that the increase in renewable energy to 20% of the total will improve the UK's self sufficiency. No mention is made of opening uranium mines in the  (or reopening  uranium mines) in order to make the UK self-sufficient in uranium, something which   in 1980.

Some critics were disappointed that the review had little discussion of the reduction of emissions from transport, a sector which gives a larger contribution to the total UK emissions than electricity generation. This may relate to the high costs associated with significant reductions in emissions in the transport sector.