With this record wind power auction, we’ve proved the rightwing doubters wrong | Ed Miliband

The only way that Britain’s energy bills can come down is if we are no longer reliant on fossil fuels. Today marks a big step towards that goal

• Offshore windfarm contracts to fuel 12m homes in Great Britain after record auction

In the 18 months since I became energy secretary, the government has made a simple argument: that if we want to bring down energy bills for good, Britain needs to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and instead build up clean homegrown power that we control.

We know that bills rocketed when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine because in the international fossil fuel markets, Britain is a price-taker, not a price-maker. Renewables and nuclear, on the other hand, offer a chance for Britain to stand on our own two feet in the world – making and setting the price of our own energy.

Ed Miliband is the secretary of state for energy security and net zero and the Labour MP for Doncaster North