In an interview in the Sunday Telegraph, shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband hinted at the course a Labour government would take on energy policy.

Labour hopes to decarbonise the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, and in order to achieve this, massively reduce the dependence on gas. The 2030 target is five year earlier than the current Conservative target on the road to net-zero by 2050.

Reducing gas means, in turn, more electricity – not just domestic use in boiler or cookers, but also a turn to electric as the ‘normal’ energy supply, for heating, for cars, for all things.

To generate this, Labour has committed to scrapping a ban on building new onshore wind farms and overturning planning rules that require local community support to approve proposed turbines. Labour wants to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.

“The onshore wind ban was a deeply unfair measure… and we want to lift it,” Miliband told the Telegraph. “At the moment, it’s easier to build an incinerator than it is to build an onshore wind development.”

Although lifting the ban could create a significant amount of opposition, especially amongst environmental groups, as has happened in Wales, and Miliband was careful to make some vague pledges of “consent”.

Indeed, the issue of decarbonising might be a war of hearts and minds, as the declining growth of EVs shoes – it isn’t easy. Replacing fossil fuel appliances with expensive heat pumps is also going to be a hard sell.

Miliband is clear: “On home heating – as we said in our manifesto – no one’s going to be forced to rip out their boiler. We’re absolutely clear about that. I know that we’ve got to show that heat pumps are affordable and are going to work for people.”

So, carrot rather than Conservative stick? The Government has a 2035 ban on most new boilers, but Labour wants to persuade.

Labour has also been rumoured to be setting up a new Office for Net Zero within the Cabinet Office if it forms the next government, in the drive to reach its renewables targets. Sky News reports that this is a measure that would put net-zero at the heart of government and be a strong signal after the scrapping its flagship policy to spend £28bn-a-year on green investments.

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