One quirk of the coalition Government is that the man in charge of delivering Britain's first new nuclear power stations in a generation has spent his career campaigning against them.

Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne knows he must tread carefully as Energy and Climate Secretary as the nuclear issue could put the coalition under considerable strain.

The agreement says the Lib Dems "have long opposed any new nuclear construction" while the Tories are committed to replacing existing stations, as long as they receive no public subsidy.

A Lib Dem spokesperson – presumably Mr Huhne – will speak in the Commons against a planning statement that will allow new nuclear, but his party must abstain in any vote.

Apart from tuition fees, it is difficult to think of an issue likely to cause more dissent within the Lib Dems.

So Mr Huhne is expected to leave much of the heavy lifting to his Energy Minister, Charles Hendry, starting with a speech to the Nuclear Industry Forum yesterday.

Of particular interest to supporters and opponents in Hinkley Point, Somerset, and Oldbury, South Gloucestershire is how new nuclear reactors will get planning permission.

The coalition will scrap the Infrastructure Planning Commission, only recently set up in Bristol by Labour, as it is an unelected quango.

Mr Hendry promised a "fast-track system for major infrastructure projects" but stressed: "Planning decisions will be made by Ministers thereby ensuring democratic accountability."

So however keen he is to distance himself, the final decision will end up on Mr Huhne's desk.