The Government has signalled a major drive to develop more nuclear power, solar energy projects and onshore wind farms in its long-awaited energy review.

But ministers have admitted that the plans will do little to alleviate soaring power bills now leaving hard-pressed households in the East of England with no immediate relief as cost-of-living pressures increase.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said: “We are already doing a huge amount to help people with the immediate cost of living and of course we are going to do more.

“But this is about tackling some of the mistakes of the past and making sure that we are set well for the future, we are never again subject to the vagaries of the global oil or gas price, we can’t be subject to blackmail, as it were, from people such as Vladimir Putin, and we have energy security here in the UK.

“So it’s a massive strategy for delivering 50GW – that’s almost half the total electricity capacity of this country – from offshore wind by 2030, totally reviving the nuclear industry which I’m afraid has been more or less moribund in this country.”

He set out a target of developing “one nuclear plant, one nuclear reactor, every year for eight years.”

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “This won’t help those who only last week saw their energy bills go up by hundreds of pounds, what they want from the Government is a response that meets that challenge.”

%image(14390628, type="article-full", alt="Sizewell Nuclear Power station where Jason Corley was a serving police officer.")

Following the new approach, it has been announced that the operational life of the Sizewell B nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast could be extended by at least 20 years.

Energy giant EDF which operates it said that it would decide in the next two years whether plan to stop producing from energy from 2035 would go ahead or whether the life of the plant could be extended to 2055.

The Government has said it remains in “constructive negotiations” with EDF on the development of Sizewell C in which it has been reported that it intends to take a 20% stake.

EDF said on Wednesday evening “As a low carbon electricity generator, Sizewell B’s long-term operation will be key in supporting the UK’s net zero climate change ambition. By 2028 Sizewell B will be the only operating nuclear power station from the existing fleet.”

EDF’s UK CEO Simone Rossi said: “Building more nuclear will reduce Britain’s dependence on overseas gas and keep energy prices stable, creating thousands of jobs while we’re doing it.”

But Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said: “Why, with money in short supply and the need for solutions urgent, has the government placed large-scale nuclear front and centre of its energy strategy?”

%image(14390629, type="article-full", alt="File photo dated 02/07/15 of a sea of wind turbines. Sudden and unexpected changes in policy have "spooked" investors and could push up the costs to households of building much needed new energy projects, MPs have warned. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday March 3, 2016. Numerous policy changes since the election - such as subsidy cuts for onshore wind, solar and biomass, cancelling funding for clean technology for power stations and ditching home energy efficiency measures - had damaged investor confidence, they said See PA story ENERGY Investment. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire")

The prime minister signalled that the government will now also look at licensing new offshore oil and gas fields as an interim measure.

The moves were welcomed by energy generation sector companies. Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: “The current energy crisis is driven by our reliance on imported gas and it’s clear that the only way to tackle the underlying cause is to ramp up investment in home-grown, clean energy infrastructure; today’s package represents a significant step towards that goal.”

But the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology described the strategy as “wholly inadequate” saying that the Government has “failed to rise to the challenge facing the country.”

While it welcomed the solar, hydrogen and offshore wind commitments it said the strategy locks the country into more expensive, longer to build non-renewable power sources.

Analysis by Ken Symon, business and energy editor

The strategy is published as western countries wrestle with high energy prices and consider how to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, amid wider calls to end the fossil fuel era to tackle dangerous climate change.
A fleet of new nuclear power plants is at the heart of the strategy, with Mr Johnson claiming "nuclear is coming home" and suggesting a new reactor will be built every year, in a social media video to promote the plan.
A new body, Great British Nuclear, will bolster the UK's nuclear capacity with a target of up to 24 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2050 - 25% of projected demand.
The plan also confirms the intention to push ahead with a nuclear project at the Wylfa site on Anglesey, north-west Wales.
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.
Some 5GW should come from floating offshore wind in deeper seas and planning reforms will slash approval times for new wind farms from four years to one year.
The strategy also includes an aim to double the goal of 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, with at least half from "green" hydrogen, produced from renewable electricity rather than natural gas.
A £30 million competition to manufacture heat pumps will be launched, and there are ambitions to increase solar capacity with a consultation on the rules for solar projects.
A new licensing round for North Sea oil and gas projects is planned for the autumn to cover the "nearer term", despite a UN report this week which called for rapid and substantial cuts to fossil fuel use to avoid dangerous warming.