More than 100 Tory MPs have written to David Cameron calling for a dramatic cut in subsidies to onshore windfarms and more influence for local people to stop them being built.
In a major revolt against government policy, they joined forces with politicians from other parties to express serious concerns over the level of taxpayers’ money going to the sector.
State help for one of the most controversial sources of renewable energy is being cut but only slowly, under plans set out by ministers last year.
But in an early headache for new Energy Secretary Ed Davey – promoted to the job after Chris Huhne’s resignation – the MPs demanded an acceleration.
“In these financially straitened times, we think it is unwise to make consumers pay, through taxpayer subsidy, for inefficient and intermittent energy production that typifies onshore wind turbines,” they wrote in the letter.
They also expressed concerns that the proposed National Planning Policy Framework “diminishes the chances of local people defeating onshore windfarm proposals through the planning system”.
Organised by backbencher Chris Heaton-Harris, the letter’s 101 Tory signatories include senior figures such as David Davis and Bernard Jenkin. Among them is Matthew Hancock, a close ally of Chancellor George Osborne.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We need a low-carbon infrastructure and onshore wind is a cost-effective and valuable part of the UK’s diverse energy mix.
“The government has commissioned a review of subsidy levels and we are already proposing a cut for onshore wind subsidies to take into account the fact that costs are coming down.”