Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The British government said 10 of 11 industry-proposed sites for new nuclear power plants are suitable for fast-track approval as the country seeks to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.

The U.K. has as many as 13 acceptable locations for nuclear development, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement to parliament this afternoon. The longer list includes three British sites with “serious impediments,” according to a statement released today.

A quarter of U.K. generation capacity will go off line by 2015, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has argued for nuclear power to fill the shortfall and help meet targets for cutting carbon emissions and securing energy supplies. Nuclear power currently accounts for about a fifth of U.K. generation.

U.K. units of RWE AG and E.ON AG will spend as much as 15 billion pounds ($25 million) to build 6,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity in Britain by 2025. Iberdrola SA, Spain’s largest utility, together with GDF Suez SA and Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, won the option to buy land for the development of a nuclear power plant at Sellafield in northwest England last month. Centrica Plc and Electricite de France SA’s British Energy unit are planning to build four atomic plants.

Miliband also outlined a series of National Policy Statements covering energy, transportation, water and waste projects. The policies, open for review until February, will guide a new Infrastructure Planning Commission set up to oversee replacement of about a third of the U.K.’s power-generation capacity over the next 20 years.

Before the Election

The new policies come less than seven months before British voters go to the polls in the first election since Prime Minister Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair in 2007. Brown is struggling to shore up his Labour Party’s popularity before a general election that must be held by June. The Conservatives led by 17 points in a poll last month by ICM Research Ltd.

“We believe that it is right to have a fast-track process for major infrastructure planning projects like these, a member of Parliament and Conservative party spokesman on climate and energy. ‘‘But it should be built on democratic accountability.’’ The Conservative minister said that he would make the national policy statements subject to a vote in Parliament.

Top 10

The 10 sites deemed suitable for new nuclear plants are Bradwell and Sizewell in the east of England, Oldbury and Hinkley Point in the southwest, Hartlepool in the northeast, Braystones, Heysham, Kirksanton and Sellafield in the northwest of England, and Wylfa in north Wales.

The government also said that while Druridge Bay in Northumberland, Kingsnorth in Kent and Owston Ferry in South Yorkshire may be considered for potential new reactors, ‘‘serious impediments’’ at each site means they wouldn’t be ready for new construction before 2025.

The government ruled out Dungeness in Kent for a new plant due to concerns about future coastal erosion and flooding. The site on the southeast coast of England has a 1,100 megawatt nuclear power station.

‘‘It is a big ask for a local community’’ to have a nuclear plant, David Simpson, a London-based energy partner at KPMG said by telephone today. ‘‘Those with existing nuclear power stations are likely to have an easier ride,’’ he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kari Lundgren in London at klundgren2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 13:52 EST