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By Fiona Harvey and Rebecca Bream

Efforts to build a new generation of nuclear power plants are under threat from staff shortages, Whitehall disputes over investment in renewables and how to deal with nuclear waste, according to leaked documents from the government department overseeing the programme.

The problems could mean “any nuclear programme would have to be put on hold from April 2008” – the government’s planned start date – according to documents seen by the Financial Times. The documents form a “script” that John Hutton, business secretary, will present to Gordon Brown.

A shortage of inspectors means that the government cannot undertake the “generic design assessments” required for new plants. Attempts to recruit more have failed, as few engineers have entered the industry in recent years and many older engineers have died or retired.

Problems on the disposal of nuclear waste are also threatening delays. The document suggests that the Treasury is resisting plans to invite councils to bid for the right to house the waste because it fears that only one council – the one that includes Sellafield in Cumbria – will apply. This lack of competition would leave it able to demand extra funding of more than £1bn.

The documents show that the government hopes to bring out a nuclear white paper on December 17, but can only do so if it “demonstrates progress has been made on waste”.

Another obstacle lies in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s objections to the EU’s target of generating 20 per cent of energy from renewables by 2020. Although the goal – backed by the environment department – would seem desirable environmentally, BERR fears it would require big subsidies to achieve and would reduce demand for nuclear power.

This is because the more energy industry gets from renewable sources, the less it can spend on carbon permits. A substantial shift to renewables would, therefore, cut carbon prices. Nuclear generators say a carbon price between €30 and €40 a tonne is needed to make their industry economically viable.

John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, rounded on the BERR’s approach, saying: “It’s an extraordinarily inept way of framing policy, indicative of the shambolic approach the government has adopted on energy.”

The EEF manufacturers’ association said the government was right to prioritise nuclear power. “Security of energy supply has to be the priority and nuclear power is fundamental to that – it is the only proven form of large-scale, low-carbon power generation.”

But the energy industry does not share BERR’s view that renewable energy and nuclear power are opposed. Several energy companies are pursuing nuclear ambitions while investing in renewables such as wind. Eon UK said: “It is not a question of nuclear or renewables. We are going to need it all.”

BERR would not comment on the leaked documents.