Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that nuclear power will play a large role in moving away from oil and gas while visiting a nuclear power station.
In a tweet after visiting the Hartlepool Power Station, the Prime Minister said:
"Nuclear power stations like the one I visited in Hartlepool today are absolutely crucial to weaning us off fossil fuels, including Russian oil and gas. Instead of a new one every decade, we're going to build one every year, powering homes with clean, safe and reliable energy."
The new reactors Johnson tweeted about are set to be built at existing nuclear plants, with further locations being identified by "Great British Nuclear".
In 2020, nuclear power supplied around 21% of energy in the UK, which was up from 9.4% in 2000. The autumn budget for last year included a £1.5 billion investment in a new large-scale nuclear power station.
World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said:
"Governments across the world should be following the UK's example and setting out policies that put nuclear as an essential and substantial component of their long term energy strategies. With widespread agreement that nuclear has a key role to play in delivering a clean, affordable and secure energy mix it is vital that governments, industry and other key stakeholders work together to ensure we not only set out ambitious plans, but also deliver on them."
