Thousands of new wind turbines could be built across the UK as part of a £100bn investment in renewable energy that could create hundreds of thousands of new "green collar" jobs, Gordon Brown announced today.The British prime minister unveiled what he described as a "green revolution" and "the most dramatic change in energy policy since the advent of nuclear power". He wants to build up Britain's clean power supply in order to reach the EU-imposed target of producing 15% of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2020. This will require £100bn of investment from the private sector, which the government will encourage with financial incentives due to be announced later by the business secretary, John Hutton.

In a speech to an energy summit at the Tate Modern art gallery in central London, Brown said that the North Sea, which has passed its peak in terms of oil and gas supplies, will be turned into "the equivalent for wind power of what the Gulf of Arabia is for oil". Wind turbines will also be built inland, but with sensitivity towards local communities. Householders will be encouraged to reduce their bills through energy-saving incentives due to be announced later this summer, said Brown. Within a decade he said he wanted every householder able to do so to fit loft or cavity wall insulation, install low-energy light bulbs, and use low-energy consumer goods.He also said it would mean that by 2020 renewables would account for over 30% of electricity supply, 14% cent of heat supply and up to 10% cent of transport fuels.

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