In a reversal of his previous political work advocating against nuclear power in the UK, the country’s newly installed energy minister stated he is not opposed to an agreement that envisions new reactors.Ed Davey was appointed Friday, replacing the previous energy secretary who resigned in a political scandal related to traffic tickets. Davey’s Liberal Democrat party opposed new nuclear plant construction, and the Daily Mail reported Davey used to issue anti-nuclear press releases as its spokesman for trade and industry in 2006. On Sunday, though, the new energy secretary said he would not disrupt an agreement reached earlier by the British government to build new plants, provided they are not subsidized with public money.About 18 percent of the country’s power comes from 18 reactors, but 17 of them are scheduled to be decommissioned in the next 11 years. To replace that power, and as part of efforts to fight global warming, the government began soliciting sites for new reactors in 2009. Parliament approved eight sites, streamlined the planning process and began reviewing the Westinghouse AP1000 and Areva EPR designs in 2011, according to the World Nuclear Association. Its reactor database currently lists four EPRs as “planned” in the UK and a total of 9 reactors as “proposed.”