Ed Miliband has said the UK cannot afford to "say no" to nuclear power as he prepares to announce plans to fast-track a new generation of reactors.
The government has approved 10 sites in England and Wales for new nuclear power stations, most of them on the sites of existing plants.
The energy secretary will give details of a list of sites judged suitable for new developments and say how planning reforms will speed up the process.
It has rejected only one proposed site - in Dungeness, Kent - as being unsuitable on environmental grounds.
Nuclear is a safe, low-carbon option to help tackle climate change, he said.
A decision on where plants will be built will be taken by a new commission after national and local consultation.
The Conservatives warned people would not be consulted while pressure groups said nuclear was "not the answer".
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said nuclear was "proven and reliable" despite opposition from green groups.
In a series of statements on energy policy, Mr Miliband will outline proposed sites for new plants, the bulk of which are expected to be near to existing sites.
The 10 sites deemed suitable for future nuclear plants are: Bradwell in Essex, Braystones, Kirksanton and Sellafield in Cumbria, Hartlepool, Heysham in Lancashire, Hinkley Point in Somerset, Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Sizewell in Suffolk and Wylfa in North Wales.
He will also explain how changes to planning laws will let the new Infrastructure Planning Commission - which will have the final say over where the plants are located - hurry through schemes which comply.
Seven of the proposed locations are already home to nuclear plants while Bradwell was home to one in the past.
'Low-carbon mix'
Braystones and Kirksanton are the only new sites under consideration.
Last year the government decided to go ahead with a new generation of nuclear plants to replace the UK's ageing nuclear infrastructure - most of which will be decommissioned by 2023.
Ministers hope to fast-track the construction of the new plants so that some can be producing energy by as early as 2018.
They hope the first of a new generation of stations can come on stream as early as 2017.
Mr Miliband said the new Infrastructure Planning Commission would have to make a decision on each application within a year of receiving it, to avoid a repeat of previous lengthy inquiries.
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Ministers hope the planning reforms, which will mean future schemes will not be subject to a public inquiry, will avoid battles such as the six-year struggle to get the Sizewell B power station approved.
Mr Miliband said the UK needed to get a "move on" with putting in place its future energy infrastructure, which he says must include nuclear alongside renewables, clean coal and gas.
"When you look at the challenge of climate change, it is right to consider all the low-carbon alternatives. Nuclear is a low-carbon alternative which, in my view, is safe and secure," he told the BBC.
He said he understood people were "historically suspicious" of nuclear power but said: "There is no evidence that people's fears are grounded."
While backing nuclear expansion, the Conservatives say they are concerned that people will be largely excluded from the decision-making process.
They are calling for a vote in Parliament on the issue to give "legitimacy" and for ministers, not "unelected officials", to make the final decision on where the plants are built.
"It is right to have a streamlined planning process but it should have democratic accountability," shadow energy and climate change secretary Greg Clark said.
'Lethal legacy'
"If you take out accountability, then it is going to make people resistant to change."
Liberal Democrat energy and climate change spokesman Simon Hughes said: "A new generation of nuclear power stations will be a colossal mistake regardless of where they are built.
"New plants in the UK have never been built without massive cost to the taxpayer and a lethal legacy of toxic waste.
"Plans to sweep aside the remnants of local accountability in the planning system expose a government ready to override all objections as to where new sites will be built."
But Mr Miliband said people would have more opportunities to make their views known than under the current system.
Developers will have to consult local residents about their plans and people will be able to lobby the planning Commission before final decisions are made, he said.
Most people living close to power plants were "enthusiastic" about them and the developments would create jobs, Mr Miliband added.
But plans for new plants in Scotland, to replace existing facilities at Torness and Hunterston, are opposed by the SNP government.
While nuclear power remains a reserved issue for Westminster, planning issues are devolved and UK ministers indicated in 2006 that the Scottish government would be able to veto proposed plants.
'Deadly legacy'
But environmentalists argue that the government could be open to legal challenge if its statements do not give enough weight to climate change.
Friends of the Earth executive director Andy Atkins said the fight against climate change should be at the "core" of all government decisions.
But he warned: "Nuclear power leaves a deadly legacy of radioactive waste that remains highly dangerous for tens of thousands of years and costs tens of billions of pounds to manage.
"And building new plants would divert precious resources from developing safe renewable power."
Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign, said nuclear power was a "dangerous and expensive irrelevance".
He added: "We don't need coal or nuclear, because proven green technologies such as wind and combined heat and power stations can secure Britain's energy needs, create green jobs and slash our emissions."
In his statement, Mr Miliband will also set out a framework for clean coal "carbon capture and storage" technology as well as updates on renewables and fossil fuels.
