John Healey has said he will veto new offshore wind projects if they will not lower bills, adding to concerns that the government is moving away from the pro-renewables agenda.

Announcing his plans, the chancellor said clean power is “how we break the grip of international gas prices on our bills”, but added the shift towards it “has to come at the right pace, in the right places, with the grid to carry it”.

New offshore wind projects lodging bids for subsidy contracts will only get signed off by ministers if they believe that all the power generated could be accommodated by Britain’s electricity grid without pushing up costs for consumers.

Writing in the Times, he said: “There’s no sense building power that can’t connect and then paying to switch it off.…