Prime Minister David Cameron has promised a “debate” on the future of controversial windfarm schemes amid a row in the coalition over their spread.
The pledge came yesterday after the new Conservative energy minister, John Hayes, was rebuked by his Liberal Democrat boss Ed Davey for saying that “enough is enough” and that the turbines should no longer be “imposed on communities”.
Mr Hayes criticised the way windfarms had been “peppered” around the country and said there were already enough in the pipeline to meet the UK Government’s 2020 green energy targets.
After the issue was raised at prime minister’s questions in Westminster, Mr Cameron said there had been “no change” in the government’s policy on renewable energy but indicated that “what happens” after 2020 still needed to be thrashed out.
In a statement, Energy Secretary Mr Davey said: “There has been no change to government policy on renewable energy, as collectively agreed by the coalition Cabinet.”
A Press and Journal poll this year showed almost two-thirds of people in the north and north-east wanted a review of the Scottish Government’s windfarm policies.
Although planning decisions on windfarms are taken by local authorities and Scotland’s ambitious renewable energy targets are set at Holyrood, it is the UK Government which oversees many subsidies which help pay for them.
Mr Hayes’s comments delighted many community campaigners and Tory backbenchers, but infuriated environmental groups and Lib Dems.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing also criticised the remarks. “It is as perplexing as it is damaging to investor confidence that the UK minister is telling the press one thing and industry something else,” he said.
WWF Scotland’s senior climate policy officer Sam Gardner said: “Politicians throughout the UK would be crazy to throw away one of the most popular and cost-effective ways we have of generating clean energy.”
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