Miliband announces 'ambitious reforms' to UK energy system

Ed Miliband has pledged to bring in "the most ambitious reforms to the country's energy system in generations" as he presses ahead with plans to accelerate the development of onshore wind farms in England.

- Guardian staff

The energy secretary is to set out the government's "clean power 2030" plan today, including measures to boost the UK's renewable energy supply such as building canopies of solar panels on outdoor car parks.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says the proposals will generate £40bn a year from the private sector.

Energy industry and environmental groups broadly welcomed the plan, with the latter urging the government against investing in carbon capture projects at the expense of supporting renewable energy development.

Ministers want to wean the country off its dependence on fossil fuels, which was laid bare when Russia's invasion of Ukraine saw British energy bills soar to record heights.

Among the measures covered by the plan is confirmation that onshore wind farms will be brought back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime in England, which streamlines planning processes for important and large-scale projects.

This would make it easier to progress onshore farms larger than 100MW, which in some cases require hundreds of acres of land.