Boris Johnson’s stadium-sized nuclear power plants will need to be built near HOME to work sparking protest fears

PM Boris Johnson faces a major backlash after it emerged his favoured mini nuclear power plants need to be built near homes to work.

Ministers fear protesters will block the building of the football stadium-sized power plants on the doorsteps of major towns.

AP

Boris Johnson faces a major backlash after it emerged his favoured mini nuclear power plants need to be built near homes to work[/caption]

Getty

Ministers fear protesters will block the building of the football stadium-sized power plants on the doorsteps of major towns[/caption]

Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi hinted yesterday that those closest to the plants could even be given free electricity to quell the rage of locals.

Small Modular Reactors, developed by Rolls-Royce, will also heat water supplies — but that means they need to be close to the homes they are supplying.

The plants — much smaller the existing ones — can power around a million homes each.

Yesterday, Mr Zahawi said he also supports more wind farms built in the countryside rather than at sea — but only if backed by the local community.

Both are set to be a central to the PM’s new energy strategy — to be announced at the end of the week — as Boris aims to wean Britain off oil and gas.

Mr Zahawi told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “We’ve seen great examples of where, if they build a nuclear power station, within a certain radius, they get free power.

“So it’s right to look at innovation to make sure we wean ourselves off hydrocarbons. We have to do that well.

“Part of that is making sure we look after the will of the local people.”