COMMUNITIES in the Westcountry have "no option" but to support a massive expansion of wind farms in the face of the growing threat from climate change, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband warns today.

While it is "perfectly natural" for the region to want to protect its coastline, countryside and natural beauty from development, Mr Miliband says "we have some tough choices to make".

Writing exclusively in today's Western Morning News, he insists new wind turbines must be in "appropriate places", but that the need for a massive expansion of green energy cannot be ignored.

While wind farms "may not be to everyone's taste", the threat of climate change and the need to secure future energy supplies means "we have no option" but to plough ahead with large-scale renewable developments.

"Yes, we need to do what we can to protect our beautiful landscape, but we also need to take action to keep the lights on and prevent catastrophic climate change, otherwise it will be our landscape that will suffer."

He points to a survey which showed that 94 per cent of people in the Westcountry support renewable energy.

Mr Miliband's plea to people in the region to recognise the environmental need – and economic benefits – of a move to green energy follows his controversial comments last month that it was "socially unacceptable" to block wind farms.

He likened such opposition to motorists not wearing a seatbelt or refusing to stop at a pedestrian crossing.

The remarks sparked a wave of protest, with some suggesting the need to tackle global warning was not proven.

Top scientist Professor James Lovelock, who lives on the border of Devon and Cornwall near Launceston, last week highlighted the "strength of the opposition many of us feel to the trashing of our still-beautiful countryside".

However, in his article, Mr Miliband dismisses those who still dispute the existence of climate change as a "small minority", warning: "The impacts of unchecked climate change will be felt not just in faraway countries, but right here in Britain and in the South West of England."

He says he is "optimistic" about the region's ability to rise to the challenge of climate change, being "enviably placed to benefit from the emergence of a green economy".

"I have every confidence that the South West will continue to be at the forefront of the environmental sector, with residents fully involved in decision-making, and supportive of our efforts to transform the UK into a clean, green, leader in the low-carbon future," he said.

The South West is "leading the way" on renewable energy, with 74,000 so-called green collar jobs so far and the potential for 30,000 more as part of Government plans to move to a low-carbon economy. However, ministers have come under fire in recent weeks for not injecting more funds into green energy in a bid to kickstart the economy.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg complained that the Prime Minister has talked about green-collar jobs, "yet his fiscal stimulus has less green stimulus than any other fiscal stimulus in the G20".

Mr Miliband also writes that families across the region will also benefit from the Government's eco-plans. Under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, householders, charities and public sector organisations in the South West will receive a total of almost £6.3 million to help them generate their own green energy.