Sir Keir Starmer will say in his speech in Scotland: 'We should roll up our sleeves and start building. ,' including new wind turbines. Photo: Stephan Russo/Pennsylvania.
Sir Keir Starmer will lift the ban on new onshore wind farms as one of his first actions in Downing Street if Labor wins the next election.
Opposition. the leader will promise to «drop everything» on his level zero program, firing from the starting cannon a «race» to build more turbines across the country.
He will unveil plans to repeal planning laws and halve the time needed to project approvals, from two years to less than 12 months.
During a speech in Scotland on Monday, he will tell voters under his vision they would save hundreds of pounds in their bills to make the UK a «clean energy superpower».
Labor says they plan to lift a de facto ban on new wind farms in England, introduced by the Tories. in 2012, in his «first months» in office.
But he will come forward with new allegations of a «shifter» after he toned down plans to shut down new oil and gas projects in the North Sea.
«Race of our lives»
“We can cut bills, create jobs and ensure UK energy security – that’s what the Labor government will do,” Sir Keir will tell an audience in Scotland.
“We have to roll up our sleeves and start building something, run barriers to meet – planning system, lack of skills, investor confidence, network.
“If the status quo is not good enough, we must find reforms that can restart our engine.
“I'm not going to put up with a situation where our planning system takes 13 years to build an offshore wind farm.”
He adds: “We're going to throw everything at it: planning reform, procurement, long-term funding, research and development, a strategic plan for skills and supply chains. .
“We must use new opportunities. This is the race of our lives and the prize is real.”
Labour's energy plan, due to be released on Monday, formally commits to lifting the ban on onshore wind power within its first year in office.
But a source close to Sir Keir said he plans to move much faster and bring the bill to the House of Commons within a few months, adding: «We are going to proceed with it as soon as possible.»
Sir Keir promised to cut the planning process for installing new turbines «from years to months.» and double the capacity of onshore wind power by 2030.
The ten-year ban has added £182 a year to the bills of a typical family, making the UK more dependent on expensive imported energy, he argues.
Labor has committed to a net-zero electricity grid by 2030.
Sir Keir's speech comes after he was criticized by the Tories and some members of his own party for softening two of his key clean energy promises.
He softened his promise to end all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea after they were criticized by unions for endangering thousands of jobs.
The announcement was made after Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, acknowledged that the Green Prosperity Party's flagship plan is being delayed.
Labor has pledged to spend £28bn a year on climate-friendly policies, but has now said it will not reach that goal until she has been in office for at least two and a half years.
Esther McVeigh, former Conservative cabinet minister, tweeted:
Mr Flip Flop is flipping again!
Sir Keir has abandoned his £28bn a year loan to keep his environmental pledge and now, under pressure from his union colleagues, he is apparently canceling his pledge to block all new oil and gas developments in the North Sea
Does he believe in anything? at all?
— Esther McVey (@EstherMcVey1) June 18, 2023
Sir Keir will also attack the SNP for not meeting their commitment to clean jobs» and support the union.
He will announce that GB Energy, the new public energy company that Labor plans to set up, will be headquartered in Scotland.
According to the proposals, residents of communities that produce clean energy, such as wind farms, will be rewarded with billing money.
Councils will also have to actively identify tracts of land that can be used to generate renewable electricity.< /p>
Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labor, confirmed that the party will now allow any new oil and gas licenses approved by the Conservatives before they come to power.
“We cannot shut off oil and gas. , and oil and gas will play an important role in our energy industry for decades to come,” he told Times Radio.
Grant Shapps, Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, told The Telegraph: “Time and Labor again have proven they cannot be trusted with our economy and our energy security.
«By succumbing to Just Stop Oil's guerrilla tactics, Keir Starmer admits that Labor will destroy the economy, jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs and undermine everything we done to lower bills.”
The Conservative Party spokesman added that the proposals «would weaken the UK's energy security by making us more dependent on Putin.»
UK Offshore Energy, an industry body, warned that Labour's plan would cut 45,000 jobs and result in to 60% drop in domestic oil and gas production.
2,105 Electricity generation for zero path
The reform package outlined by Sir Keir is seen as vital if the UK's electricity grid is to be completely carbon-free by 2030.
Industry insiders see the goal as extremely challenging. would be «practically impossible».
However, the limitations of the scheduling system and the network queuing process are seen as major bottlenecks.
Under the first-come-first-served system, developers of solar farms and battery storage projects have been told they may have to wait until the 2030s for their projects to be online, although it only takes them a few years to connect to the network. build.
This has prompted firms to «pay and spray» applications in different areas to increase their chances of success by filling the queue with speculative projects that lead nowhere.
A Union source said the party will «break the queuing system» for network connectivity, replacing it with a «use it or lose it» process that forces developers to show progress or abandon their application.
Meanwhile, the current planning process may force companies to do a lot of environmental studies for renewable energy projects, even if other developers have already done similar work for other projects nearby — a waste of time and money.
But Labor will promise to demand that the councils allocate land for such schemes and explore ways , allowing offshore wind companies to use existing environmental data to speed up project approvals.
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