The Business Secretary has said the Government’s nuclear power push may initially increase energy bills.
Kwasi Kwarteng said the plan to build new power plants as part of a new energy strategy may have a “small effect” on bills.
But he told the BBC “nuclear is back on the table” because the Government considers it a sustainable energy source, adding that it would provide cheaper power eventually.
A fleet of new nuclear power plants is at the heart of the strategy, with the Prime Minister suggesting a new reactor will be built every year, in a social media video to promote the plan.
As part of an aim to make 95% of electricity low carbon by 2030, the strategy has a goal to produce up to 50GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, which officials said would be more than enough to power every home in the UK.
A multimillion-pound package was later announced to help support the “bold plans” of the Government’s strategy.
Mr Kwarteng said the £375 million investment will “unlock the enormous potential” of hydrogen and nuclear power.
He has said the strategy – which sets out aims to boost new nuclear power, offshore wind and hydrogen – is a long-term plan focusing on energy supply, “undoing the mistakes of the past and taking the big decisions now”.
He said the Government was “already doing a huge amount to help people with the immediate cost of living and of course we are going to do more”.
