Britain set out plans on Thursday for a 10-fold increase in renewable energy within 12 years in a scheme welcomed for its ambition but criticized for lacking concrete policies to cut carbon emissions and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

The government?s proposals for meeting its 2020 target of getting 15 % of all energy from renewable sources foresees about one third of Britain?s electricity coming from renewables and is expected to involve 100 billion pounds of investment.

?This is a green revolution in the making... It is the most dramatic change in our energy policy since the advent of nuclear power?, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the launch in London?s Tate Modern.

The proposals include boosting support and removing planning obstacles for clean energy projects to get 4,000 more wind turbines erected onshore and 3,000 more at sea by 2020, while increasing help for renewable heat, power and microgeneration.

Although the plans were widely welcomed, industry observers and environmentalists encouraged by the government?s broader approach to clean energies warned that yet another consultation was wasting time.

?While the government should be applauded for taking a more holistic view on all forms of renewable energy, another period of policy review and consultation cannot be so warmly welcomed,? Ben Warren, a clean energy director at Ernst & Young said.

«The time for talking is surely over ? as we get ever nearer to 2020 some tough decisions need to be made.»