Make Britain an exporter of renewable energy by 2050 says Nick Clegg

11.39.20am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 21st Aug 2008

We are over dependent on oil and gas from parts of the world that aren't very reliable

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has unveiled plans to make Britain an exporter of renewable energy by 2050. He has called for a programme to end the UK's increasing dependence on foreign coal, gas and oil. Instead of the government's preferred option of nuclear energy Mr Clegg says it can be achieved through wave, wind, biomasss and solar power.

The government wants to build a new generation of nuclear power stations - but the Lib Dems say the cash should be spent on renewable sources of energy instead. They also want energy companies to spend £9bn on insulating homes and helping the poor meet their bills.

Mr Clegg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he wanted to see the creation of a renewables delivery authority - similar to the Olympic Delivery Authority - to make a "complete revolution" in energy supply a reality. "We've only just started, I think, making the first tentative steps to see what's possible," he said. "The thing that I think has gone wrong in this debate is that the government has spooked everyone into thinking that we need nuclear by saying there's going to be a terrible energy gap - the lights are going to go out in the middle of the next decade. There's actually no evidence that's the case at all. They've raised the wrong problem in order to push the wrong solution. The real problem is that our energy mix is not green enough and we're over dependent on oil and gas from parts of the world that aren't very reliable."

As well as investing in renewable energy, Mr Clegg said Britain must improve the energy efficiency of its housing stock, with better insulation and more widespread use of smart meters.