Already, countries such as France and Finland are building new nuclear plants and, in the United States, companies have begun filing licence applications, reinforcing the view atomic energy is part of the solution to the world's energy problems.
There is opposition to nuclear among some states, however, including Germany, an anti-nuclear stronghold. Critics say the toxic waste from nuclear power generation remains a problem for thousands of years and is not worth the risk.
Hutton said the UK would not subsidise any new reactors, but the government would step in to help in case of a catastrophe.
The Conservative Party lent its support to the decision and vowed to "set aside political scrapping", but London Mayor Ken Livingstone called the decision "the mistake of a generation".
"I would anticipate that there will be yet further challenges, both political and indeed legal which the government will have to deal with," said lawyer Jim Percival of Brabners Chaffe Street, a nuclear specialist.
GLOBAL COMPETITION
Nuclear operators say they could have new plants running in Britain by 2017, but analysts point to tough global competition for components and experienced nuclear workers.
"The UK will need to work hard to remain an attractive option," said Tony Ward of Ernst & Young, adding that more than 30 reactors were under construction around the world, and over 90 were in the pipeline.
Hutton said he expected several new plants to be running by the mid-2020s and France's EDF said it aimed to build four reactors in the UK alongside Areva and British Energy.
Centrica and Germany's RWE and E.ON also said they were keen to get involved.
The government green light was accompanied by publication of an Energy Bill to be fast-tracked through parliament with the Climate Change Bill and the Planning Bill.
The trio of bills form the backbone of the government's new energy and climate policy for the next decades.
