Ed Miliband has called for a national debate over Government plans to accelerate the rollout of wind turbines, solar farms and pylons across the UK, describing it as a matter of “national security” and “economic justice”.
In his first major speech on Tuesday, the Energy Secretary argued that swift approval of new energy infrastructure was needed to wean the UK off fossil fuels and avoid a repeat of “a crisis with the devastating effects we have seen” in the future.
In the nine weeks since forming its new government, Labour has lifted an almost decade-old blockade on onshore wind farms, approved the construction of four of the UK's largest solar farms and created GB Energy, a government-backed power producer, to back up investment of up to £8 billion in low-carbon electricity.
Speaking at Energy UK's annual conference in London on Tuesday, Mr Miliband said the government's manifesto commitment to deliver a clean electricity system by 2030 was “the national security, energy security and economic justice fight of our time”.
The plans have raised concerns in some parts of the country and among opposition parties that an increase in onshore energy projects would require a massive expansion of towers and overhead lines to connect to the grid, leading to “rural industrialisation”.
“The faster we go, the safer we are – put one wind turbine, put one solar panel and build one electricity grid to protect families from future energy shocks,” Mr Miliband said.
He added: “We need to have this conversation as a country, because the opposite is also true: If we block one wind turbine, if we deny one solar farm, if we can't build one electric grid, our country becomes less secure and more at risk. That's why the Clean Energy Sprint is the national security, energy security and economic justice fight of our time.”
The Labour government has also taken steps to combat “NIMBY” sentiment by promising to go ahead with new housing developments even if they are built on green belt land – but this has angered senior Conservative politicians and there are concerns within Labour itself about the impact on local support.
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Mr Miliband added: “As someone who believes that this country suffers from deep injustice, I am determined that we do not move from an unequal, unfair, high-carbon Britain to an unequal, unfair clean energy Britain. In this transition we must tackle fuel poverty, create good jobs, clean our air and improve access to nature and quality of life. And I firmly believe we can do that.”
