There are 19 nuclear reactors in the UK totaling 11 GWe capacity and about 3% of UK electricity demand is met by imports of nuclear power from France, so total nuclear consumption is normally about 22%. Last year the UK government approved 10 sites in England and Wales for new nuclear power stations. The 10 sites for future nuclear plants are: Bradwell in Essex, Braystones, Kirksanton and Sellafield in Cumbria, Hartlepool, Heysham in Lancashire, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Sizewell in Suffolk and Wylfa in North Wales.
Just last week the UK government gave the go-ahead for new offshore wind farms, which could result in 
Europe’s offshore wind capacity increasing to 32 GW, more than ten times existing offshore wind capacity.
- Moray Firth Zone: EDP Renováveis and SeaEnergy Renewables – 1.3 GW
- Firth of Forth Zone: SSE Renewables and Fluor – 3.5 GW
- Dogger Bank Zone: SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft – 9 GW
- Hornsea Zone: Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power – 4 GW
- Norfolk Bank Zone: Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft – 7.2 GW
- Hastings Zone: E.ON Climate and Renewables UK – 600 MW
- West of Isle of Wight Zone: Eneco New Energy – 900 MW
- Bristol Channel Zone: RWE Npower Renewables – 1.5 GW
- Irish Sea Zone: Centrica Renewable Energy and RES Group – 4.2 GW
EDF Energy, which acquired British Energy Group and plans to invest $31.8 billion to develop four reactors in Britain, says that nuclear power is a cheaper way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and that nuclear is “the cheapest, large-scale, low-carbon electricity source.”
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