The government identified 10 suitable sites for the next generation of nuclear power plants yesterday, including two new locations, as part of a plan to overhaul Britain's ageing energy infrastructure.

The energy and climate secretary, Ed Miliband, said nuclear power was essential to combat climate change and to ensure energy security for Britain in the decades ahead, describing it as a "proven, reliable source of low carbon energy".

But he drew immediate criticism from environmentalists who warned of the "deadly legacy" of radioactive waste and argued that investment should be focused on renewables instead.

The 10 sites had been nominated by energy firms hoping to build reactors. Most are on or adjacent to existing plants, but two identified as suitable are on new sites, Braystones and Kirksanton, both in Cumbria and on the "nuclear coast".

One of the oldest and most efficient windfarms in Britain will be dismantled at Kirksanton to make way for the nuclear plant, to the dismay of some locals.

Miliband said the first new plants could be up and running by 2018. The names of the sites were contained in one of six draft national policy statements designed to fasttrack the planning process for strategically important infrastructure projects.

The statements cover nuclear energy, renewables, fossil fuels, oil and gas pipelines and storage and the electricity grid, as well as an overarching statement on infrastructure. Further statements are to follow on areas including airports.

The statements will establish national policy and act as guidelines for the recently established Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a central planning authority, to be run at arm's length from the government, which aims to give developers decisions on schemes within a year of submission.

The policy statements, which will go out to consultation until February, also underlined the government's commitment to "clean coal" technology. It is pressing ahead with four trials of carbon capture and storage technology, which aims to bury emissions underground, and reiterated that no coal plants would be built without it. The government also reaffirmed its target of 30% of electricity generation from renewables by 2020.

"We think renewables, nuclear and clean fossil fuels are the trinity of low carbon fuels of the future, all of them have their role to play," Miliband said. "We need all of them because the challenge of the low-carbon future is so significant." Any projects with proposed capacity of more than 50MW will be decided by the IPC. Miliband said the streamlined planning authority would avoid tortuous decisions. The current system, he said, was characterised by "duplication and delay".

But critics raised fears that local concerns would be brushed aside by the IPC. Miliband argued there would still be opportunities to object to new developments. "But while, of course, we need a process that can turn down specific applications, saying 'no' everywhere would not be in the national interest," he said.

The other sites identified as suitable for new reactors are Bradwell, Hartlepool, Heysham, Hinkley Point, Oldbury, Sellafield, Sizewell and Wylfa. The only site rejected in the draft document was Dungeness, chiefly because of its "unique ecosystem". EDF Energy, which plans to build four plants, described yesterday's statement as a "defining moment".

A further three sites were examined, at Druridge Bay in Northumberland, Kingsnorth in Kent and Owston Ferry in South Yorkshire, and although "worthy of consideration", have been rejected for now.

Scottish National Party has refused to join the rush for new nuclear power plants, and plans to replace Hunterston and Torness with coal-fired stations.

Ben Aycliffe at Greenpeace said: "You can't justify building more nuclear power stations when there is no solution to radioactive waste and when international regulators are saying there are huge uncertainties surrounding the safety of designs."

The shadow energy secretary, Greg Clark, acknowledged the need for urgent action, but said the government was riding roughshod over the democratic process. "It is a national emergency and it's been left far too late," he told Radio 4.

The targets

Overarching energy policy Sets out core objectives - reduced emissions, security of supply, expanding grid capacity, keeping costs down and sustainable development. To meet demand in 2025, a third of the enlarged energy generating capacity needs to be built in the next 15 years.

Fossil fuels Reaffirms commitment to 'clean coal' and trials of carbon capture and storage technology, without which there will be no new coal-fired plants.

Nuclear power Of 10 sites identified to build plants, only one, at Dungeness, considered unsuitable. Up to 40% of new energy provision could come from nuclear by 2025. Planning commission will focus on location only.

Renewable energy Reaffirmed 30% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, chiefly from wind with smaller amounts of 'bioenergy'.

Gas supply and storage Imported gas will become increasingly important as production in the North Sea declines.

Electricity transmission and grid Sets out need for a 'smarter' electricity grid to support a more complex system.