The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which owns the sites of Britain's Magnox reactors, has been consulting the local communities about what they want to replace the power plants.
It has set up stakeholder groups to choose a replacement use for the Magnox sites from a series of options. The NDA is still collating the results but the favoured option at Dungeness A, which closed at the end of last year, is another nuclear power plant, according to a spokesman for the organisation.
The NDA stresses it has no remit to decide the future use of the sites; its job is to evaluate options and report to the government. But its early findings will encourage British Energy, which operates other nuclear power stations.
The company has already invited expressions of interest from potential partners to work on new nuclear plants on land at its existing sites.
It sees its relationships with local communities as one of its key assets, alongside its experience of running nuclear plants, skills base, connections to the national transmission network, and geological locations, which will make it attractive to potential partners. Big generators like Eon, RWE and EDF are tipped to be among those interested in working with British Energy.
With or without British Energy, the big generators are keen to be involved in the development of nuclear new build as part of a portfolio of energy sources.
In March, for example, Dr Paul Golby, chief executive of Eon UK, said he saw replacement nuclear plants as essential to meet the UK's climate change and energy security objectives. "In my view, replacing our nuclear capacity is an option that the UK must have if we are serious about diversity of supply and tackling climate change."
EDF Energy has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Its chief executive Vincent de Rivaz wants to see the first plant in operation by 2017, which would mean building work starting in 2012. "We are well advanced to be in pole position to build new nuclear," Mr de Rivaz said in an interview last week.
RWE said it was waiting to see what came out in the white paper.
British Energy is keen to cast its net as widely as possible, and sees financial institutions or large customers as potential partners in its ambitions for the future.
"We asked in February for expressions of interest from those who could see themselves working with us in partnership on nuclear new build in the UK," said a British Energy spokeswoman.
Companies interested in new nuclear plants are expected to want to wait until the energy white paper later this month provides details of the framework for new nuclear power. They will also be keen to gauge long term political commitment to nuclear power and an assessment of the continuing development in the market for carbon trading which could help to underpin the economic case for nuclear new build.
The British Energy spokeswoman said: "We are confident we are getting a very positive response."
She declined to give details about the identity of those who had already approached the company. The government's role in British Energy's strategy extends beyond laying the ground rules newnuclear building. It effectively owns 65% of British Energy as a result of its support for a financial restructuring and has previously indicated that it wants to sell at least part of the stake.
It will need to be persuaded that allowing British Energy to trade its assets and skills for a share in the ownership of new nuclear power stations and a role in running them represents the best return for the taxpayer if it received competing proposals for outright purchase.
The prospect of a new generation of nuclear power plants is already attracting attention from reactor builders. General Electric, from the US, is reported to have expressed interest to the government in offering its latest reactor design.
Rivals Areva, from France, and Westinghouse which the government sold to Japan's Toshiba last year, are also expected to be interested in winning work.
