Campaigners in Sussex have warned the latest Government targets for renewable energy can only be met if urgent action is taken.

The county is well-placed to lead the way in renewable energy but it lags behind the rest of the UK because planners have consistently refused to allow wind turbines in places such as Shoreham Harbour.

In 1992 Shoreham Port Authority announced plans to build up to 20 wind turbines producing 4.8 megawatts.

Planners considered the harbour perfect because it was unshielded by land and benefited from the English Channel's wind power.

But protests led to the project being shelved.

Another project which succumbed to opposition was near Littlehampton.

The Government's White Paper on green energy has set targets of 20 per cent of Britain's power to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Less than three per cent of energy is produced this way at the moment.

By 2050 the Government wants to see a 60 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

In the South-East wind power is seen as one of the keys.

The region could see up to four giant offshore windfarms and at least one onshore windfarm, generating enough electricity to power 200,000 homes.

Dr Jim Watson, an expert on renewable energy at the University of Sussex, said the South-East is well-placed to implement the plans. He said: "These plans represent two different concerns, where we get our energy from in the future and how to deal with climate change.

"We need to find other sources of power. It has taken a decade to reach three per cent renewable energy. We need to accelerate to hit these targets.

"There is a rising amount of activity and things are happening but it needs to speed up."

"We can't rely on North Sea oil reserves forever."