Planning rules that protect the countryside should be ripped up so that more windfarms can be built, Keir Starmer will say today.
The Labour leader will pledge that a government led by him would ditch the effective ban on new inland turbines imposed by the Conservatives.
He will claim his plans would mean Britain could run on 100 per cent clean power by 2030, with household bills slashed by £1,400 a year.
His party argues that the turbine ban, in place since 2015, is collectively costing families £5billion a year on bills because it is stopping the production of cheaper energy. But it will spark fears that the countryside faces being blighted by eyesore developments.
In a speech in Edinburgh to set out his mission for a green revolution, Sir Keir will say the onshore windfarm ban would be lifted within months of Labour winning power. The time it takes to develop projects will be reduced from up to 13 years to ‘months’.
The Labour leader will pledge that a government led by him would ditch the effective ban on new inland turbines imposed by the Conservatives
Onshore wind turbines generate electricity at Frodsham Wind Farm on December 7, 2022 in Liverpool
But it has emerged that Sir Keir would not block the Rosebank oil and gas field development west of Shetland – despite pledging to ban all new North Sea drilling.
The Labour leader has given the commitment to Equinor, the Norwegian state-owned energy company which has the licence for Rosebank, The Sunday Times reported.
Labour has signalled a retreat from its plans to block all new oil and gas developments in the North Sea following fierce criticism from industry and its trade union backers which have warned of the risk of thousands of job losses.
The party has since promised not to revoke any fossil fuel extraction licences granted before the next election, even though it could take years for them to start production.
It marks the latest shift in Labour’s green policy after the party was earlier this month forced to water down plans to spend £28billion a year on environmental projects because of affordability fears.
Read Related Also: Killer whale rams into yacht off Shetland in first UK orca attack
Tory MP and former minister Esther McVey taunted Sir Keir, tweeting: ‘Mr Flip Flop flips again!
‘Sir Keir backtracked on his £28billion-a-year borrowing to fulfil his green pledge and he’s now, under pressure from his union colleagues, apparently reversing his pledge to block all new oil and gas developments in the North Sea. Does he believe in anything at all?’
Sharon Graham, boss of the Unite union, which has donated millions to Labour, repeated criticism of the plans, saying it would ‘cost jobs’ and was ‘further proof of the total lack of detail in Labour’s plan.’
Laying out his ideas for cleaner energy today, Sir Keir will say: ‘We can cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security for Britain – that’s what a Labour Government will deliver. We’ve got to roll up our sleeves and start building things, run towards the barriers – the planning system, the skills shortages, the investor confidence, the grid.
‘If the status quo isn’t good enough we must find the reforms that can restart our engine. I’m not going to accept a situation where our planning system means it takes 13 years to build an offshore windfarm.
‘We’re going to throw everything at this: planning reform, procurement, long-term finance.’
Wind turbines at Wadlow Wind Farm in Cambridgeshire, operated by Renewable Energy Systems
It is understood that local communities would not lose a veto on new developments, raising questions about how the planning process will be streamlined. The Labour leader will also outline plans for a new public body, GB Energy, to collaborate with councils, communities and the private sector to bring down energy costs.
The power plan would be directly owned by locals, with profits from the energy sold to the grid from renewable energy schemes being returned to the community through discounts on bills for households in need.
GB Energy will make available up to £600million in funding for councils and up to £400million in low-interest loans each year for communities, Labour says. Councils would have to identify areas suitable for renewable generation.
A national wealth fund would be created to support more well-paying jobs by investing alongside the private sector in gigafactories, clean steel plants, renewable-ready ports, green hydrogen and energy storage. Sir Keir will add in his speech his was ‘a new plan for a new settlement’, adding: ‘A clear direction across all four nations. Pulling together for a simple, unifying priority: British power for British jobs.’
Researchers have warned that planning restrictions on renewable energy developers must be eased after the IPPR think-tank said at the current rate it would take almost 4,700 years for England to build enough onshore windfarms to meet its energy demands.
More than 11,000 have been installed – creating the sixth largest capacity of any country.
