Rising energy costs caused by the conflict in the Ukraine have reinforced the importance of improving Britain’s energy security.

For too long, we have been reliant on cheap, imported gas and fossil fuels from Russia. The war has disrupted this supply, and the result is more expensive petrol and increased home energy bills.

As a nation, Britain has finally realised the importance of being less reliant upon foreign supply for our energy and the need to improve our own energy security.

Rightly, we recognise that the sustainable answer to our energy and fuel needs must come through investment in carbon neutral and renewable sources. This will mean more nuclear power stations, more solar farms, and more offshore wind farms.

However, the road to increased energy security is not quick or simple; it will take many years, significant investment, and a lot of hard work.

It is also important that our precious countryside is not sacrificed in the pursuit of greater energy security. In the past, I fought successfully to ensure that new power cables to the north of Ipswich were undergrounded in order to protect the Suffolk countryside.

I share the frustration of residents in Friston and surrounding villages about the lack of joined-up thinking that has led to the proposed 30-acre substation.

Our energy infrastructure needs to be brought up to date, and we should not allow offshore wind solutions to be developed in an uncoordinated way. Energy produced by offshore turbines should be brought inland through a single route. We need a ring main that goes along the coast and comes in at the right place – quite possibly through the Thames estuary.

Unfortunately, we must also accept that nature is erratic. The wind does not always blow, and the sun does not always shine. For many years there has been hope that we could develop better storage technologies for wind and solar power, but we are still a long way short of doing so.

We need more reliable forms of energy in order to provide an energy base. Rightly, the Government has committed to phasing out the use of fossil fuels but in order to keep the lights on that means the need for more nuclear power stations.

Nuclear power is well received and supported in many parts of the country including Anglesey and Cumbria. The construction of Sizewell C will bring many new jobs for people living in Suffolk.

This is a good thing, but I have always had concerns about the plans for Sizewell C as a result of the environmental impacts of the project and the reluctance of EDF to commit to adequate investment in Suffolk’s road and rail infrastructure to support the construction of the new power station.

However, given the importance of improving our future energy security, I can understand why the project may be given the go-ahead together with an improved package of key infrastructure measures.

There is also an urgent need for Suffolk’s councils to develop plans for where new solar parks should be located. Solar is an important part of the energy mix and sensible locations for solar parks have been identified in places like the old Parham airfield.

But, in other parts of Suffolk, plans have been submitted for solar parks which are unsuitable, where for example, they may contribute to increased surface water runoff and flooding. I have pressed our local council leaders on this issue, and it is important that we now see a co-ordinated approach being taken to identifying suitable future locations for larger-scale solar parks.

Improving Britain’s energy security will not be quick, and difficult choices will need to be made. But if we want to reduce our reliance on imported energy and keep bills down in the long run, the time has come to put energy at the top of the political agenda.

- Dr Dan Poulter is the Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.