Ed Miliband defends push for clean power (Ben Birchall\/PA) (PA Archive) <\/p>\n
Ed Miliband has labelled a dependence on fossil fuels as the UK\u2019s energy \u201cAchilles heel\u201d as he pushes ahead with a clean power agenda in the face of increasing political opposition.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Energy UK\u2019s annual conference, the Energy Secretary argued renewables were cheaper than new gas plants, and were the right choice to free the country from the impact of global fossil fuel markets and bring down \u201cbills for good\u201d.<\/p>\n
Labour came to power pledging \u201cclean power by 2030\u201d, with almost all of Britain\u2019s electricity coming from clean sources such as renewables and nuclear by the end of the decade, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills and tackle climate change.<\/p>\n
Ed Miliband has said dependency on fossil fuel markets is the UK\u2019s \u2018energy Achilles\u2019 heel\u2019 (Peter Byrne\/PA) (PA Wire) <\/p>\n
But the agenda has faced significant push-back from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have pledged to ditch \u201cexpensive\u201d net zero policies and maximise extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea.<\/p>\n
Mr Miliband told the conference in London on Tuesday: \u201cOur exposure to fossil fuel markets remains the Achilles heel of our energy system, keeping bills high and giving us no long-term certainty over price.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that wholesale gas costs for households were 75% above their levels before Russia invaded Ukraine, pushing up bills.<\/p>\n
And the Cabinet minister argued that, with historic underinvestment in the energy system and rapidly growing demand for electricity for things such as AI and electric vehicles that are cheaper to buy, new energy infrastructure had to be built.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cPeople<\/a> are entitled to advocate for more fossil fuels and less or even no more renewables as part of this mix.<\/p>\n \u201cBut here is the reality those people need to confront: they would leave us more exposed because we don\u2019t control the price.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are more expensive to build and operate.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would leave us losing out in the global race for the jobs, investment and industries of the future.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they would drive a coach and horses through our efforts to tackle the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Miliband told the conference: \u201cI believe building clean energy is the right choice for the country because, despite the challenges, it\u2019s the only route to a system that can reliably bring down bills for good and give us clean energy abundance.\u201d<\/p>\n He also warned against overstating the public backlash against the green agenda.<\/p>\n Mr Miliband said he believed the British public were largely supportive of climate action, believed in the benefits of clean energy and wanted it done in a way that supports their standard of living \u2013 which he said the Government<\/a> would do.<\/p>\n His comments come as the Government announced it was giving the UK\u2019s largest solar farm, Tillbridge in Lincolnshire, the green light, the 17th nationally significant clean energy project it has approved since it came to power.<\/p>\n The 500 megawatt (MW) solar scheme, which has faced local opposition, could support 1,250 jobs and power hundreds of thousands of homes with solar power \u2013 the cheapest form of power available for the UK \u2013 officials said.<\/p>\n In his speech to the conference, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey<\/a> called on the energy sector \u201cto take on the lies\u201d put forward by Reform UK and the Conservative Party, who claim that clean power policies will cost UK billpayers more money.<\/p>\n