The Tory energy minister has condemned the "peppering" of wind farms across the countryside, insisting: "Enough is enough." John Hayes said the spread of turbines "seems extraordinary" and they should no longer be "imposed on communities".
Questioned at PMQs on the apparent Cabinet disagreement on wind farms, the Prime Minister has to reiterate that there is no change towards renewable energy.
Ed Miliband had asked him who he supported: the Energy Minister John Hayes or Energy Secretary Ed Davey.
The Energy Secretary Ed Davey has released this statement following John Hayes' comments about onshore wind energy:
There has been no change to Government policy on renewable energy, as collectively agreed by the Coalition Cabinet ...
There are no targets - or caps - for individual renewable technologies such as onshore wind. Nor are there reviews being done of onshore wind on the basis of landscape or property values.
– ed davey, energy secretaryWhat we’re currently consulting on are ways of making sure local communities feel the benefit of hosting wind farms, and whether our understanding of future costs is accurate.
Onshore wind is one of the cheapest renewables, which is why we’ve been able to cut the subsidy. It has an important role to play in our energy future.
The website quotes a Lib Dem source as saying: “This may be the speech that John Hayes and the Tory Tea Party wanted but it wasn't even delivered because he was told not to.”
Mr Davey allegedly vetoed key lines from Mr Hayes’ speech after seeing its first draft.
There had been "absolutely no change in government policy," the source added.
The deputy chief executive of RenewableUK - a trade association for the renewables industry - has said he is "disappointed" by Mr Hayes' comments.
Maf Smith told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that his comments do not sit comfortably with what he said at a renewables conference last night.
– Maf Smith, chief executive, RenewableUKAt our conference he was talking about the importance of renewables in the mix, the importance of wind, the importance of jobs and securing benefits for renewables.
What we would like is clarity about those views. We understand some of those things that have been said in print this morning are not Government policy.
(Sources: RenewableUK, DECC)
The Guardian's political editor has quoted a source in Liberal Democrat party as saying that John Hayes' comments on wind turbines are not coalition policy:
Lib dem source on Hayes "he might think it is coalition policy, but it is n't and won't ever be. He has been very silly"
From @patrickwintour on Twitter:Labour's parliamentary candidate for Lincoln, Lucy Rigby, appeared to back up the story, branding the episode "energy shambles".
Lincs Tory MP Hayes' "enough is enough" rant on wind farms slapped down as 'not Govt policy' by his Lib Dem boss. #Energyshambles continues.
From @LucyRigby on Twitter:– Leila Deen, Greenpeace Energy CampaignerJohn Hayes’ petulant outburst adds to the Coalition’s growing energy shambles and to a deepening divide within Government between those who care about green growth and the economy and those who just want more oil and gas.
Here is a new minister veering off brief and publicly contradicting his bosses. His comments threaten jobs and his approach will drive up energy bills.
Cameron needs to take charge, decide which side he’s on and reassure industry and investors that John Hayes won't go over their heads and make policy over the phone to the Daily Mail.
Sir Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher's former press secretary, and now secretary of the pressure group Supporters of Nuclear Energy, said: "Reality is dawning. This was always a dead end and a very destructive and expensive dead end, both on-shore and off-shore."
John Hayes' bold talk will delight scores of Conservative MPs who have been urging David Cameron to block further expansion of onshore wind farms, but infuriate Liberal Democrats.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey was reportedly so concerned about his new deputy's views on the issue that he acted to limit his responsibilities.