British secretary calls for 'solar revolution'

Incoming British Energy Secretary Amber Rudd told her local newspaper she aims to usher in a "solar revolution" through the new administration.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tapped Rudd as the head of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, at which she's served since last year. From 2010-12, she was a minister in the British Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Rudd laid out part of her strategy in an interview with her local newspaper, the Hastings and St. Leonards Observer.

"I want to unleash a new solar revolution," she said in the interview. "We have a million people living under roofs with solar panels and that number needs to increase."

DECC last year said the country was in the top 10 in the world in terms of solar capacity and the projections are for at least 10 gigawatts installed by 2020, up from the 2.7 GW on the grid last year.

British advocacy group Friends of the Earth criticized that policy, saying it would drive up the cost of solar energy and threaten jobs in the emerging sector.

Simon Bullock, a chief campaigner for the group, praised Rudd's track record earlier this week, saying she is already on record as a strong advocate against climate change.