Two new nuclear power stations will be built in the West – but the massive Severn Barrage project has been shelved, Chris Huhne confirmed yesterday.

The Energy Secretary has dropped plans for new reactors at three current plants but paved the way for development at another eight around the country.

They include Hinkley Point in Somerset and Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, and anti-nuclear campaigners voiced their anger and pledged to step up their battle.

Mr Huhne also rejected the proposed £34 billion, 10-mile Severn Barrage from Weston- super-Mare to Cardiff, as well as smaller projects to harness the estuary's tidal range.

He said the plans were not viable in the current tight economic climate, although they may be reviewed after 2015.

Senior Lib Dem Mr Huhne has always opposed nuclear power, but the coalition between his party and the Conservatives commits the Government to it. However he insisted there would be no public subsidy for the new reactors and taxpayers would not be left to pay the clean-up costs.

The minister said a feasibility study concluded any major Severn Estuary scheme would be very costly and it would be difficult to attract the necessary investment from the private sector.

"The study clearly shows that there is no strategic case at this time for public funding of a scheme to generate energy in the Severn Estuary – other low-carbon options represent a better deal for taxpayers and consumers," he added.

Anti-nuclear group Stop Hinkley said it was a terrible shame the Severn tidal schemes had been abandoned, as there were options that could have produced electricity without harming wildlife.

Spokesman Crispin Aubrey warned there was no justification for giving the green light to Hinkley, as the safety issues had not gone away, including health, accidents, terrorism plus the risks of storing radioactive waste for 100 years.

But Gary Smith, of the GMB union, said: "These new nuclear power stations are absolutely essential and we need to get on with building them without further delay."

Tory Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper said of the barrage scheme: "It was expensive and I was not convinced it was the right way forward – other low-carbon options, like nuclear power stations, seemed to make more sense."