Government 'must subsidise nuclear power plants'

More government support is needed if a new generation of nuclear power plants is to be constructed, it has been claimed.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy in the UK, said the government needs to offer more financial incentives.

"We need a plan that everybody can refer to. Not with too many potentially conflicting targets and distorting subsidies. But with a simple, level playing field tool: a robust carbon price with a realistic floor," he told the newspaper.

The government has set a goal of reducing CO2 emissions in Britain by 80 per cent over the next 40 years.

Robert Bell of AEA Technology told the Financial Times that investment is needed to help develop and increase the use of a large number of technologies, including nuclear.

A spokesman for the British Wind Energy Association said recently that the UK is lagging behind other European countries when it comes to sourcing renewable energy.