The UK has announced plans to build more nuclear power plants. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the United Kingdom must end its dependence on Russian energy, following the invasion of Ukraine.

The government says it will increase renewable energy production, tap into its domestic oil and gas reserves, and boost “long-term energy independence, security and prosperity” by building eight new nuclear reactors by 2050. This is expected to triple the UK’s production of nuclear energy to a quarter of projected electricity demand.

But this should come alongside a 10-fold increase in the production of electricity from offshore wind farms, as well as a boost to onshore wind farms. The government also says it will promote solar power and increase hydrogen production. 

Mr Johnson says he wants to ensure the UK is “never again subject to the vagaries of the global oil and gas prices, and we can't be subject to blackmail, as it were, from people such as [Russian President] Vladimir Putin”. 

The plans have been criticised for focusing on boosting supplies without measures to increase energy efficiency or cut demand.

Household gas and electricity prices have jumped 54 per cent in the UK this month, but the new measures do little to address this cost.