April 2, 2014
U.K.

David Cameron ‘wants to rid countryside of unsightly wind farms’

Ian Johnston | 01 April 2014 | www.independent.co.uk

The Prime Minister is reportedly considering fighting the next election with a promise to restrict onshore wind farms and possibly even tear up existing ones.

David Cameron was said to be “of one mind” with campaigners against wind turbines, sources told two newspapers.

One source close to Mr Cameron said he wanted to promise to “eradicate” and “rid” the countryside of the “unsightly” structures, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Conservative manifesto could include pledges to cap the number of wind farms, tighten planning rules and cut subsidies. The source said the subsidy reduction might be enough to persuade companies to dismantle some turbines.

The Liberal Democrats have reportedly stopped the Coalition from introducing a moratorium on building new wind farms.

A Liberal Democrat aide told The Guardian that the Conservative claims to be an environmentally friendly party had been “already a lame duck and are now dead in the water”.

“Nick Clegg was simply not going to allow the Tories to move the goalposts on green energy again,” the aide said.

“Some sort of crude block towards onshore wind would seriously damage investor confidence in Britain’s energy markets. It would be a double whammy – bad for both British business and for the environment.

”The Liberal Democrats believe in a mixed, diverse green energy future. Capping onshore wind production would leave investors questioning our long term commitment to all renewable energy sources. This would be catastrophic for our growing green economy and the hundreds of thousands of British jobs in it.“

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/04/02/david-cameron-wants-to-rid-countryside-of-unsightly-wind-farms/