This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20150316

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Wind farms: Row after minister says UK has 'enough' Wind farms: Row after minister says UK has 'enough'
(35 minutes later)
Tory energy minister John Hayes has been slapped down by his Lib Dem boss Ed Davey after saying the UK now had "enough" wind farms. Tory energy minister John Hayes has been slapped down by his Lib Dem boss Ed Davey after saying the UK had "enough" onshore wind farms.
A source close to Mr Davey said Mr Hayes had "totally over-egged things" and did not make the final decisions.A source close to Mr Davey said Mr Hayes had "totally over-egged things" and did not make the final decisions.
Mr Hayes told the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph the UK was "peppered" with wind farms and "enough is enough".Mr Hayes told the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph the UK was "peppered" with wind farms and "enough is enough".
He suggested reviews would be launched into the noise and impact on the landscape created by turbines.He suggested reviews would be launched into the noise and impact on the landscape created by turbines.
The comments put him on a collision course with Mr Davey, who took personal charge of wind farm policy after Mr Hayes was appointed in September's reshuffle, and who has said having a wind farm on the doorstep can be good for communities. The comments put him on a collision course with energy and climate change secretary Mr Davey, who took personal charge of wind farm policy after Mr Hayes was appointed in September's reshuffle, and who has said having a wind farm on the doorstep can be good for communities.
Mr Davey is in charge of the government's renewable energy strategy, while Mr Hayes is in charge of "deployment".Mr Davey is in charge of the government's renewable energy strategy, while Mr Hayes is in charge of "deployment".
Some 4,000 turbines are due to be built across the UK by 2020 - which Mr Hayes told the two newspapers was sufficient to meet the government's environmental targets.Some 4,000 turbines are due to be built across the UK by 2020 - which Mr Hayes told the two newspapers was sufficient to meet the government's environmental targets.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a consultation on future developments - but Mr Hayes appeared to pre-empt that by saying any future wind farm applications would put the views of local communities first.The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a consultation on future developments - but Mr Hayes appeared to pre-empt that by saying any future wind farm applications would put the views of local communities first.
Community 'desires'Community 'desires'
He said: "We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. I can't single-handedly build a new Jerusalem but I can protect our green and pleasant land.He said: "We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. I can't single-handedly build a new Jerusalem but I can protect our green and pleasant land.
"We have issued a call for evidence on wind. That is about cost but also about community buy-in. We need to understand communities' genuine desires. We will form our policy in the future on the basis of that, not on a bourgeois Left article of faith based on some academic perspective."We have issued a call for evidence on wind. That is about cost but also about community buy-in. We need to understand communities' genuine desires. We will form our policy in the future on the basis of that, not on a bourgeois Left article of faith based on some academic perspective.
"If you look at what has been built, what has consent and what is in the planning system, much of it will not get through and will be rejected. Even if a minority of what's in the system is built we are going to reach our 2020 target.""If you look at what has been built, what has consent and what is in the planning system, much of it will not get through and will be rejected. Even if a minority of what's in the system is built we are going to reach our 2020 target."
But a DECC source told the BBC's Chris Mason that Mr Hayes "does not make final decisions on this" and that he had "totally over-egged" things when he suggested reviews will be commissioned into the noise that turbines create and their relationship with the landscape.But a DECC source told the BBC's Chris Mason that Mr Hayes "does not make final decisions on this" and that he had "totally over-egged" things when he suggested reviews will be commissioned into the noise that turbines create and their relationship with the landscape.
There had been "absolutely no change in government policy", added the source, and "we will be reassuring the renewable energy industry we haven't shifted our view at all".There had been "absolutely no change in government policy", added the source, and "we will be reassuring the renewable energy industry we haven't shifted our view at all".
Mr Hayes, Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, gave a speech to the Renewables UK event on renewable energy on Tuesday night, which a DECC spokeswoman said was "well received by the renewables industry". Maf Smith, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK, said his organisation was "disappointed" by Mr Hayes' comments, which came after he addressed a renewables conference on Tuesday evening.
She said that the views quoted by the Mail and Telegraph were not expressed in that speech. Mr Smith told BBC Radio 4 Today's programme: "At 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.
She added: "Government policy for renewables, as stated in the Renewables Roadmap, sets out scenarios for renewable deployment, but does not set targets or caps for the deployment of individual technologies, including on onshore wind. "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."
"Government is committed to supporting a balanced energy mix of renewables, new nuclear and gas in order to meet the UK's energy needs". Mr Hayes' speech to the event on Tuesday evening was "well received" by the renewables industry and did not include the views expressed in the newspaper interview, according to DECC.
But the minister, a longstanding critic of wind farms, told reporters on Wednesday morning "I stand by what I said" in the interviews.
DECC has said it has "no targets" for the deployment of onshore wind power but a spokesman added: "Government is committed to supporting a balanced energy mix of renewables, new nuclear and gas in order to meet the UK's energy needs."
Earlier this year, more than 100 Conservative MPs wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to get rid of the subsidies paid to wind farm operators funded from household energy bills.Earlier this year, more than 100 Conservative MPs wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to get rid of the subsidies paid to wind farm operators funded from household energy bills.
Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint, for Labour, accused Mr Hayes of "playing politics" with clean energy jobs and the country's energy security.
"With energy bills skyrocketing, what hard pressed people urgently want is action but instead we have a shambles of a Tory-led government which can't even agree with itself," she added.