Britain's controversial push for a renaissance of nuclear power has been given a major boost with French energy giant EDF taking a lead role in the modernization of the country's ageing atomic reactors.

The Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes that only a mix of nuclear power and new coal-fired plants, flanked by alternative sources such as wind energy, can secure the nation's long-term energy needs and reduce its dependence on fluctuating oil and gas prices.

"New nuclear is becoming a reality," Brown said on Wednesday about the agreed takeover by EDF of British Energy.

"Nuclear is clean, secure and affordable. Its expansion is crucial for Britain's long-term energy security, as we reduce our oil dependence and move towards a low-carbon future."

Under the deal, EDF plans to build four advanced-technology EPR-type nuclear reactors in Britain to go onstream by 2017, out of 10 new nuclear plants the government hopes to build by 2020 to replace outdated reactors.

The government says that Britain's existing 16 nuclear power stations, which currently provide 20 per cent of the country's energy needs, are scheduled to close over the next 20 years.

It argues that their replacement is necessary to prevent "over-dependence" on foreign sources of energy, primarily from the Middle East and Russia, as North Sea oil supplies run out.

Its forecasts predict that by 2020, some 80 per cent of Britain's gas requirements would have to be imported, "much of it from the most unstable regions on the planet," according to Business Secretary John Hutton.

A government White Paper said the construction of new coal-fired power plants was also of "critical importance" to secure future energy supplies.

It insists, despite widespread opposition to its plans from environmental groups and local campaigners, that a nuclear revival would enable Britain to meet its carbon reduction targets and fight climate change.

A recent report by US engineering giant Westinghouse predicted a boost of 30 billion pounds to the British economy from the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants.

"No coal plus no nuclear equals no lights, no power, no future," Hutton told the Labour Party conference this week, while predicting a "tough fight" with environmental groups and other critics of nuclear power.