Doubts about the legality of the proposed arrangement with EDF, and whether it satisfied EU state aid rules, have effectively been eliminated, he said.

"This paves the way for further involvement of international operators in the UK's nuclear power program. Indeed, we have already witnessed significant interest from France, Japan and China," Lurie said.

But whether the nuclear project will proceed as promised is still up in the air, as the Austrian government and environmental groups have attacked the Brussels-based commission's decision.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner told Bloomberg in a joint statement that "we are not going to accept subsidies for nuclear electricity", because it is not a "sustainable energy source", and the project set a negative precedent.

The British government said it is committed to developing nuclear energy to provide a sustainable, low-carbon electricity supply, with a target of adding 16 GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2030.

Renewables need concerted efforts	10 countries that have most nuclear power plants