Oldbury and Hinkley Point have named by the government as possible sites for new nuclear power stations, as energy and climate secretary Ed Miliband announced a huge increase in atomic power generation for the UK.

Oldbury, in South Gloucestershire, and Hinkley Point, in Somerset, are two of ten new power stations planned across the country.

Along with an ”ambitious” new policy for the transition to clean-coal technology, as well as confirming targets for generating 30% of electricity by renewable sources by 2020, the new nuclear sites are part of the government’s plan to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from power generation.

Hinkley Point could be one of the first of the new atomic stations to be operational by 2018. The first applications to the commission (pdf) include plans from French company EDF for new nuclear power stations at the Somerset site and Sizewell. By 2025, nuclear electricity generation could amount to about 40% of new energy provision.

Making the announcement in the House of Commons, Mr Miliband said the increase in nuclear power generating capacity was essential for the UK to meet its climate change commitments.

“The threat of climate change means we need to make a transition from a system that relies heavily on high-carbon fossil fuels to a radically different system that includes nuclear, renewable and clean-coal power,” he told MPs.

“Change is also needed for energy security. In a world where our North Sea reserves are declining, a more diverse, low-carbon energy mix is a more secure energy mix, less vulnerable to fluctuations in the availability of any one fuel.”

The other eight sites named across the UK are at Braystones, Sellafield and Kirksanton, all in Cumbria; Heysham in Lancashire; Hartlepool, Co Durham; Sizewell, Suffolk; Bradwell, Essex; and Wylfa in Anglesey.

Oldbury power station was opened by Tony Benn in 1967. Local councillors have described a community split down the middle over whether to support or oppose a new site.

A huge construction program would need to be undertaken, and there are fears that the rural roads surrounding the site will be unable to cope with the increased level of traffic.

Hinkley Point, meanwhile, opened in 1962 after a five-year building phase. It has attracted considerable criticism from the Stop Hinkley campaign group which names Lord Ashdown – the former Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil – as one of its sponsors.

Consultation on the new plans will begin soon, but the new planning system – the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) – which was set up earlier this year, will begin considering applications for projects from March 2010. Making  decisions easier to push through are, according to the Green Party, “bad for democracy”.

Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green party, told The Guardian: “Bypassing the planning system in this way is bad news for democracy and for the environment. A key democratic right is for the public to have a say on how their area is developed.

“Decision-making about where we get our energy from, and the long-term costs associated with nuclear, should be opened up to more accountability, not less.”

But the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said that planning delays have blighted the country’s infrastructure plans for too long.

Miles Templeman, Director General of the IoD, said: “Planning delays to large infrastructure projects are damaging to competitiveness and to economic prosperity.

“The failure to take prompt decisions has condemned the UK to prolonged reliance on inadequate facilities, while the associated uncertainty has blighted other attempts to improve the state of the energy and transport infrastructure.  The result is the overcrowding on the transport network and the threat to our energy security that we face today.

“The establishment of the Infrastructure Planning Commission and the consultations on today’s national policy statements are important steps towards reducing these costly delays while preserving the democratic accountability that is properly part of the planning process.

“Now that the new regime is getting under way, it is important that nothing should be done to hinder the IPC’s ability to deliver quicker decisions on key infrastructure projects.

“Smaller scale schemes, including many wind farms, cannot be left to suffer continued planning delays just because they fall below the thresholds for scrutiny by the IPC.  The Government’s proposed reforms to the local planning system must be implemented as quickly as possible.”

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