WITH oil prices apparently lodged permanently above the $60 level, those involved in the energy debate look close to taking the nuclear option,

In what many regard as an exquisite volte-face, the government appears to have abandoned its earlier plans, which indicated that the UK would soon rely purely on renewables and gas for power generation.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson said at the weekend that the government will decide within a year whether to build new nuclear power stations.

And Whitehall spin doctors have whispered that multibillion pound plans for new power-plants could be unveiled within months.

There is certainly a need to make a decision soon. The UK has 12 nuclear power stations, but only three will remain by 2020, as their lives come to an end.

The more Britain relies on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, the lower the chances of Britain meeting its greenhouse gas- emission targets under the Kyoto protocol.

But the construction of new nuclear power stations would provoke protests from environmental activists.

However there remain big questions over nuclear's business case.

The UK's nuclear generator, British Energy, had to be rescued by the government last year in a Pounds 6bn package using taxpayers' money. The company had almost collapsed after the electricity it was selling became worth less than it cost to generate.

Think tank Oxera estimates that the government would have to contribute Pounds 4bn to any plan for new nuclear power stations.

But with antinuclear campaigners demanding to know where the toxic nuclear waste will be stored, the debate promises to get even more electric in the months to come.