Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey has given the clearest indication yet that he expects gas to continue to play a major role in the UK’s energy mix for at least the next two decades, revealing 20 new gas-fired power plants are likely to built over the next few years.

Speaking to the Guardian, Davey said the government was planning 20GW of new gas capacity by 2030, but insisted that the surge in new gas capacity would not crowd out investment in renewables, nor lead to the UK breaking its legally-binding carbon budgets.

“I strongly support more gas, just as I strongly support more renewable energy,” he told the paper. “We need a big expansion of renewable energy and of gas if we are to tackle our climate change challenges.”

The comments come ahead of the expected release of a new national gas strategy this autumn and what is likely to be a tense debate between the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Treasury over whether or not the upcoming Energy Bill includes a decarbonisation target for the electricity sector for 2030.

Chancellor George Osborne has signalled that he is fiercely opposed to the target, arguing that it would discourage investment in new gas capacity. However, the Lib Dem conference this week passed motions supporting the inclusion of the target on the grounds it is deemed necessary to ensure the UK meets its long term carbon targets.

If adopted, a decarbonisation target could force new gas plants to either fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by 2030 or limit the amount they are allowed to operate post-2030 to meet stringent emissions targets. However, the with serious doubts still hanging over the cost and effectiveness of large-scale CCS technologies, critics have warned the target will make it very difficult to secure investment in gas plants that may not be able to maximise returns over their entire lifespan.

Davey is thought to be broadly in favour of a decarbonisation target, but has repeatedly rejected arguments put forward by both gas industry lobbyists and green groups that the UK needs to make a clearer choice between investment in renewables and gas.

“People who see the UK’s energy future as a competition between renewable and gas are misreading the next phase,” he told the Guardian.

The latest comments will further anger green groups, particularly after the Lib Dem conference signalled that the party was preparing to step up its support for the low carbon economy.

“Green-lighting a whole fleet of new fossil fuel power stations would cause a huge jump in emissions and blow this autumn’s once-in-a-generation opportunity to replace dirty power stations with clean ones,” said Joss Garman, political director of Greenpeace. “Only days ago Ed Davey and Danny Alexander said they were fully committed to achieving completely carbon-free power in the UK by 2030. Nick Clegg can’t afford to make this another ‘sorry’.”

In related news, US engineering giant General Electric has unveiled new gas-powered electrical turbines designed to better complement renewable energy sources.

The turbines are designed to provide more electricity at times of low production from renewable sources and burn less fuel when operating at lower than peak capacity.

The new turbine line is designed for countries where power is transmitted at a frequency of 60 hertz, which includes the US, Canada, Brazil, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Last year, GE began selling versions of the equipment for use in places with 50 hertz electricity, such as Europe, China, Australia and Africa.