ROSS Finnie, the environment minister, has postponed any decision on new nuclear power plants until after next year's election, while warning there is a need to tackle the "great luxury of a greedy energy policy".

The Liberal Democrat minister has said there is "no perfect solution" to the issue but that there is a need to address the questions of existing waste and new plants.

Of the nuclear option, he said: "I don't think there is an immediate need for it", in line with the recent findings of the sustainable development commission.

Jack McConnell, first minister, has said there will be no approval for new nuclear plants until the issue of handling waste is resolved. Yesterday, he was questioned about the subject on the BBC's Politics Show, and said it is important to leave open the option of new plants, rather than take a "dogmatic" approach to opposing them, but that they are ruled out "until we are satisfied that the waste can be managed safely".

In recent weeks, the first minister has hinted that he will not let the issue be addressed before the Holyrood election in May 2007.

The environment minister confirmed to Holyrood magazine that delay is now seen within the Scottish Executive as a virtual certainty. By the time the committee on radioactive waste management has reported its final conclusions, it will be too late for this administration to act, said Mr Finnie.

"By March, there will be no government decisions being taken, so you've only got about nine months of this coalition government to go, " he said.

Mr McConnell has placed emphasis in recent weeks on Holyrood having powers over planning and regulation of building any new power plants, saying the planning question should not be decided according to party political stances. Yesterday, he said: "I don't think we should rule it out in the long term because nuclear is currently producing just over a third of Scotland's energy resource, and therefore we need to ensure we take a balanced approach to this, and that is a better approach than a dogmatic one that rules this out entirely.

"But we will not go ahead with nuclear power stations until we are satisfied that the waste can be managed safely."

Part of the growing pressure on the executive and the Whitehall administration is coming from the nuclear industry, with newspaper reports yesterday of lobbyists stepping up their activities and having close links to both administrations.

The strength of the environmental cause is giving hope to Scottish Green party leaders that they could at least double their numbers at Holyrood next year, and hold the balance of power in support of a minority administration.

Robin Harper, joint party leader, told the magazine they are aiming for two list seats in the five parts of Scotland where they have one, a rise from two to three in their Lothian representation and one seat in the remaining two regions. Their minimum expectation is a rise from seven to ten seats.

The party is planning on that giving them the leverage to offer a deal to a new minority administration in which they would support the executive on any no confidence motions and its budget votes, but would have to be persuaded on other issues. This would be in return for assurances about key green issues, such as a block on nuclear power.

Meanwhile, less than a year from the election, Nicol Stephen, Scottish LibDem leader and deputy first minister, claimed that recent by-election results have put his party in contention to become the largest at Holyrood. According to a Sunday newspaper interview, Labour's struggling electoral performance and polling figures could lead to him becoming first minister.