OLDBURY power station is still seen as a possible site for a new atomic reactor - but it remains near the very bottom of the preference list.

A decision will be made next year on potential sites for a fleet of new atomic power stations after the government found "compelling" evidence to support the nuclear option to meet the bulk of Britain's future power needs.

John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business Enterprise, said nuclear power stations were a safe and secure means of electricity production without adding to global warming.

The government wants private energy companies to fund and build the plants and also meet the full costs of decommissioning.

A report has already placed Hinkley Point on the Bristol Channel near Bridgwater at the top of a table of 14 preferred sites with Oldbury - currently scheduled to close at the end of this year - and Berkeley in 11th and 13th place respectively.

Independent consultants drew up the list based on the criteria that existing nuclear facilities were the most suitable for development owing to existing infrastructure and local communities long accustomed to having a nuclear site as a neighbour.

The report by Jackson Consultants used a traffic light system to indicate the suitability of existing sites for development of new generation single or twin reactors.

It put Hinkley was given two green lights, indicating no major barriers to further development immediately.

Way down the list, Oldbury received two amber lights, indicating that a new plant would be "potentially feasible" but also noting important barriers that would need to be overcome, including cooling difficulties and environmental sensitivity.

Although cited as "technically possible", Berkeley was given two red lights owing to major barriers to power station development including planning, cooling and environmental issues and the fact that it is no longer connected to the National Grid.

Bosses at Oldbury declined to comment on the search for new sites. A spokesman for station operators Magnox North said: "We are contracted to run and maintain the plant and it's not for us to express views on these other separate issues."

Northavon MP Steve Webb - recently appointed Lib Dem Shadow Environment Secretary - said Oldbury should see out its natural life and then close for good.

"It is not suitable for a new plant regardless of the arguments and I don't think it will even be considered as a potential site," he said. "My concern is that this concentration on nuclear is a distraction.

"We shall start running out energy long before new nuclear plants come on stream and we need to be doing something about developing renewables now - including looking seriously at tidal power from the Severn."