Ms Kelly, secretary of state for communities and local government, this week announced that planning permission for greener energy generation methods in the home will no longer be needed.

Homeowners will thus be able to install ‘micro-generation devices’ such as solar panels and ground source heat pumps without the hassle of going through planning processes.

The change will also save householders the £1,000 charge for applications to local councils.

The plans have still to be approved ahead of the forthcoming climate change white paper.

But Ms Kelly told delegates at a local government and climate change summit: “These green technologies can help keep fuel bills down and can even allow households to earn a small amount by selling excess electricity to the grid.”

The government hopes to boost the number of micro-generation installations across the UK, currently at just 100,000, to more than 1.3 million by 2020.

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