The Green Party today welcomed the news that the UK renewable energy industry now has 5 gigawatts of installed windpower - with the fifth gigawatt of capacity having been installed in the space of just one year.
But the Greens also warned that Britain needs far more investment in renewable energy if the country is to meet science-based targets for helping tackle climate change.
Party leader and Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said:
"Today's announcement represents a key landmark in the transformation of our energy sources in the UK, with wind now providing enough power to satisfy the annual electricity consumption of three million homes.
"But this is only a start, and we need significant further investment in wind and other renewables, if we're to provide clean domestic electricity throughout the UK and to create many thousands of green jobs."
And Keith Taylor, the Green Party Euro-MP for South East England, said of the landmark 300 MW Vattenfalls windfarm off Thanet:
"I warmly welcome the opening of the world's largest windfarm off the Kent coast today - and sincerely hope it will be the first of many new renewable energy projects in the UK. It's clear that, if we are to reduce our carbon emissions in line with UK and EU targets, and achieve greater energy security for future generations, we must move away from our dependence on fossil fuels and invest heavily in green technologies."
Keith Taylor continued:
"While the opening of the Thanet windfarm is certainly great news for the region, the fact that less than 20% of the £900m investment in the project has gone to British firms is a real cause for concern. The UK could be at the forefront of a global revolution in renewable energy and energy efficiency, benefitting from the thousands of green jobs that such an energy transformation will create - yet successive governments have failed to show adequate vision and create the right environment for investment, while the private sector has been stubbornly slow to act."
The Green Party said it will continue to campaign for 90% UK cuts in CO2 emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, adhering to the principle of "contraction and convergence." The Greens believe "contraction and convergence" - under which all countries would end up with the same per capita allowance of carbon, with the overall amount of carbon emissions reduced to a sustainable level - is the best way to achieve 80% global cuts by 2050 in a way that allows for reasonable development by the world's poorer countries.