In an interview the BBC's Andrew Marr, Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK supports the expansion of renewable energy.
Faced with claims that the UK was facing power cuts, Mr Miliband said new power stations capable of producing 10 gigawatts - enough to power 10 million homes - were being built.
He said a "majority" the population supported wind farms and that building the next generation of nuclear plants would begin by the end of 2017.
Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband: "Well we are changing the planning system and that was what the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan that we published in the summer did, but let me just be clear with you, power stations are closing but we already have about 10 gigawatts - that's enough to supply 10 million households - of new power stations being built and another 10 gigawatts that have got planning consent. But the real issue is do we carry on in a high carbon way, or do we, for example, go down the wind power route, the nuclear route and the clean coal route. Now Government is putting in place the policies to make that happen. I think the big thing, and David was saying this, is we have to win public consent for that."
Andrew Marr, BBC: "I was going to say, because people don't want wind farms ruining the countryside, they don't want nuclear power stations and you've got to persuade them to change their minds."
Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband: "Indeed, indeed, absolutely right. And I've made myself a bit unpopular by saying that we can't simply say no to wind farms everywhere, so we're changing the rules. I also think there is something important about the changes to the rules that we are doing. We're saying to Local Authorities who make the decisions on wind power for example, you should tell us where the best places are for wind power, where is the wind blowing greatest, where can they have the most potential, but you can't simply say no to everything, you can't simply say we're not part of the Government's strides towards greater renewable energy, and I think that's an important change, but it's also about public persuasion and the other thing to say Andrew is that we might think everyone opposes wind power, but actually the evidence is about 70% of the population support wind farms and if you live near one you are more likely to support it. But the silent majority is relatively silent on this and part if my job is to help them to speak up."