Clean Power

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

As the world faces the second fossil fuel shock in less than five years, the lesson for Britain is that exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets cannot give us the energy security we need. For Britain and many other countries, clean energy is the only route to financial security, energy security and national security. That is why today the Government are setting out how in response to this crisis we will double down on our mission for clean energy.

First, we will speed up our drive for clean home-grown power that we control. In less than two years, we have secured enough clean, home-grown power for the equivalent of 23 million homes through two record-breaking renewables auctions, invested in the biggest nuclear building programme in half a century, and broken down the barriers in the way of building, from planning reform to fixing the grid connections queue.

In response to this conflict, we have already announced that we will bring our next renewables auction forward to July. Today we go further. We will intensify efforts to build renewables on public land with a cross-Government sprint to identify opportunities and actively bring projects forward. My Department will work hand in hand with public land owners and managers, such as the Ministry of Defence, Network Rail and Forestry England, as well as Great British Energy, to harness untapped public assets, from railway warehouses to unused brownfield sites, to significantly expand the pipeline of renewables. This could unlock up to 10GW of capacity even using only a fraction of Government land, powering the equivalent of around 5 million homes.

We will also step up our work to get critical clean energy projects built across the board. This includes accelerating vital grid infrastructure with a package of reforms from land access rules to networks consenting, as well as plans to extend permitted development rights and expand self-build for grid connections.

Secondly, we are also accelerating our efforts to drive electrification across the economy. We will support the British people to access technologies such as solar, batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicles, which can help shield them from fossil fuel shocks, ensuring that everyone, not just the richest in our society, can see the benefits.

We will accelerate our £15 billion warm homes plan wherever we can to protect families before next winter. That starts today with bringing forward £100 million of funding, in addition to existing plans, as we upgrade tens of thousands more social homes this year. We will also support families and small businesses who use heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas, who have been particularly exposed to rising prices, by increasing heat pump grants available to them to £9,000 this financial year.

Following our announcement that we will bring plug-in solar to shops in the UK, we have earmarked £25 million with a view to piloting support for low-income families for plug-in solar and a vision of a house-by-house, street-by-street roll-out. We will make it easier than ever for families and businesses to adopt these technologies, including removing barriers to on-street electric vehicle charging, which will particularly help those living in flats and those without a driveway.

Today we also announce that Great British Energy will put solar on the roofs of 100 more schools and colleges, in addition to the 250 schools and 260 NHS sites already confirmed, to cut their bills and save money that can be reinvested in public services.

Thirdly, these measures come alongside decisive action to break the link between gas and electricity prices, so that families and businesses see the benefits of the clean power we are building.

We have already moved from gas setting the price of electricity around 90% of the time in the early 2020s, to around 60% today. Thanks to our mission, we estimate that gas will set the wholesale price around half of the time by 2030. By building clean power, we are expanding the proportion of generation on long-term fixed price contracts from around 20% today to over 60% by 2030, which is crucial because for those generators it breaks the link with volatile gas.

Today the Chancellor and I set out decisive action to go further. From next year we will seek to transfer legacy low-carbon generators, which supply about a third of our power today, on to fixed-price contracts that deliver value for money for consumers. This will be a voluntary decision for those generators. Alongside this, the Chancellor has today announced changes to the electricity generator levy that will change the economic incentives for generators to move on to these fixed contracts.

Together, these measures will accelerate the delinking of gas and electricity prices: increased revenues mean we can support businesses and households with the impacts of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.

Alongside these steps, we are also publishing our reformed national pricing delivery plan, which will ensure that families businesses benefit from a cheaper and more efficient energy system.

This package of measures represents a significant acceleration of our mission to take back control of Britain s energy, so that we can protect the British people from this and future fossil fuel shocks and bring down bills for good.

[HCWS1530]