Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair signaled his support for building a new generation of nuclear plants, saying the option will be considered in a new energy review.

Aging nuclear and coal-fired stations that generate about a third of Britain's power will be closed by 2020, and the government has to decide how to replace them. Renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro electricity can fill some but not all of the shortfall, Blair told business leaders.

``Around the world you can sense feverish rethinking,'' Blair told the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference in London. ``The future is clean energy and nations will seek to diversify from energy dependence on one source.''

Blair, whose government in 2003 called building new nuclear plants an ``unattractive'' option, has become convinced that it is now the only way to meet commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimize Britain's reliance on oil and gas from the Middle East and Russia, local newspapers reported this month.

Unlike coal-fired and gas-fired plants, nuclear reactors produce virtually no emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas responsible for global warming, according to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gonzalo Vina in London at gvina@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 29, 2005 05:46 EST