Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband told The Daily Telegraph newspaper that new planning guidelines due out on Monday would reduce the time it would take to get a new generation of nuclear power plants into operation.

The new planning proposals are designed to stop nuclear proposals getting bogged down for years in legal wrangles.

Miliband wants to have new power stations in place by 2017 to 2018.

“Saying no is not a good energy policy. In fact, we’ve got to say yes to all of the key technologies — nuclear, renewable, clean coal,” he said.

“We are going to have to see significant infrastructure built in the coming years.”

Rejecting these options “will be bad for Britain in terms of our security of supply and it’s bad in terms of low carbon as well.

“We can’t have endless delay.”

Britain approved the construction of a new generation of nuclear plants in January 2008.