Commenting on today's announcement from the energy department, Mike Clancy, General Secretary Designate, said: "Prospect's priority is to secure investment in high-quality jobs in the UK economy, and ensure a secure supply of affordable, low-carbon energy to keep the lights on.

"We have always argued that the market cannot deliver alone, and that we need legislation to provide more certainty for investors at a time when a fifth of the UK's electricity generating capacity is due to close. We have seen two important signals recently, with EDF Energy's commitment to build a new nuclear power station at Sizewell C and the arrival of new entrant Hitachi /SNC-Lavalin, who bid successfully for Horizon Nuclear Power in October.

"We need new nuclear power stations, wind farms and carbon capture and storage plant as part of a balanced energy policy to meet the needs of the future.

"Today the government has confirmed its commitment to introduce contracts for difference, managed by a new single government-owned company. That will be an important piece in the jigsaw and go some way towards guaranteeing stable revenues for those companies investing in low-carbon energy projects, with the knock-on effect of creating high-quality skilled jobs for the tens of thousands of workers who will be needed to make these projects a reality.

"At the same time the creation of a capacity mechanism is aimed at ensuring the lights stay on, even at times of peak demand, and therefore also necessary.

"The devil will be in the details, which won't be available until next week, and we share the concerns of those seeking an overall decarbonisation target. But today's announcements represent an important building block towards a secure, carbon-free future."

Prospect represents 21,000 engineers, managers and professionals in electricity supply and nuclear.