LONDON – Britain’s government on April 21 unveiled plans to accelerate its clean energy drive after oil and gas prices soared in the wake of the US-Iran war.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will use a speech later in the day to expand on the proposed measures, which include “driving forward plans to massively expand renewables” on government land.
Placing solar panels and wind turbines on industrial and railway sites could power about five million homes, the Labour government said in a statement.
It proposes to also “speed up clean, homegrown power” via a further overhaul of “planning, land access and grid connection processes”.
The government wants additionally to make it easier for people to switch to cheaper electric transport and heating.
Ahead of UK local elections in May, the energy minister will hit out at opposition parties who want new exploration of the North Sea in response to the Middle East conflict that has reduced oil and gas supplies.
“Even before the Iran war we were seeing record demand for technologies like rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicles,” Mr Miliband’s speech will say according to excerpts released to media.
“And in the teeth of this crisis demand for them is surging… Opponents of clean energy want to stand in the way of what the British public want, we want to support them.”
Since coming to power in 2024, the government led by Britain Prime Minister Keir Starmer has placed big emphasis on using cleaner energy sources to help drive the UK economy, which has so far struggled to take off.
Britain is one of the leading players in renewable energy in Europe owing to onshore and offshore wind power. And other European countries have also voiced plans to speed up their clean energy drive amid the Middle East war.
The country has set a target to consume zero carbon electricity by 2030 and is aiming to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to combat climate change.
“While some have said we have gone too far and too fast, I profoundly disagree,” Mr Miliband is to say on April 21.
“In response to recent events, our action must now be faster, deeper and more wide-ranging. That is why we will double down not back down on our mission for clean energy.”
Greenpeace welcomed the move, with political campaigner Angharad Hopkinson saying “the government is absolutely right to be looking at every possible solution to cut our dependence on volatile fossil fuels and take back control of our energy”. AFP
