Ministers considering new energy efficiency laws

The government is considering a number of proposals to increase the use of renewable energy in Britain.

The proposals include financial incentives to homeowners such as the option of selling surplus electricity back to a national grid.

Building 3,500 onshore wind turbines, banning food waste and wood from landfill sites and outlawing inefficient appliances such as oil-fired boilers are also possibilities, the Times and Telegraph newspapers report.

Grants and low-cost loans could also be used to encourage households to fit wind turbines and solar panels.

The renewable energy strategy, to be published later this week, is designed to make Britain reach its EU target of generating 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Prime minister Gordon Brown, who is attending an oil prices summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said that it was in the interests of oil producing countries to finance greener alternatives, the Times reported.

The strategy document is only for consultation, but ministers are expected to implement most of its proposals, according to the Telegraph.

It also said an area the size of Essex could be planted with trees and other crops for biomass energy production.