Milan Topalov

Wind turbines up to 15 metres high could be put up in industrial estates or farmland without planning permission under plans published by the government today.

Britain's claim to be a world leader in green energy investment has been called into question by an authoritative new study that will embarrass ministers as they prepare to launch an important climate change initiative tomorrow.

Real, gutsy solar power is as rare as hen's teeth in this country. By the real deal I mean photovoltaic (PV) systems that convert sunlight into electricity as opposed to rather prosaic solar thermal systems that heat water. Last year just 6MW of solar PV was installed in this country. Compare and contrast the situation in Germany, where more than 1,500MW was installed last year and one in 10 buildings has a solar power system.

An alliance of construction companies, solar energy groups and politicians will tomorrow appeal to the government to increase support for renewable energy for households through its proposed Clean Energy Cashback scheme.

I have spent the past 25 years working for a more sustainable world. I have campaigned to save endangered species and to protect the rainforest; for stronger pollution controls, standards for greener products and laws to cut emissions of climate-changing gases.

After months of deliberation, the UK government has announced a range of illustrative figures for feed-in tariffs (FITs), which it's calling a Clean Energy Cashback scheme. FITs are fixed payments made to the owners of small generating stations for the electricity that they export to the grid. Micro-generators need high payments to justify their expensive investment in buying and installing green generation.

The UK government announced its plans to concentrate on renewable energy and the policies fit for this move in July this year, what follows this announcement, we are all eager to find out. There were many lengthy documents outlining separate aspects of the plans, yet all seem to be pointing towards one thing: the fact that nothing is yet set in stone….

Solar PV (photovoltaic) cells generate electricity directly from sunlight. They've been around for decades, though over time have become less expensive and more efficient, with production accelerating quickly in the past few years.

If it becomes law, the UK's climate change legislation will be the toughest of its kind in the world, says Lord Puttnam. However, in this week's Green Room, he says the government is still failing to make the most of an untapped resource – local communities.