Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion
Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.
The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.
Ministers have not yet made a final decision but one senior government source said Johnson was “open minded” and “passionate” about offshore wind.
The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed, in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken out in favour.
However, one cabinet minister said that there shouldn’t be a rush towards onshore wind because it is “extremely expensive” and “not cost-effective”.
Some are understood to prefer a push for fracking, despite safety and environmental concerns. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, has publicly declared himself in favour exploiting more onshore gas in the UK.
The energy independence plan was announced by the prime minister after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Set to be published next week after some delays, it is expected to propose a rapid expansion of nuclear power and accelerated targets for renewables – but it is unclear whether a relaxation of planning rules around onshore wind will be included. Officials have suggested targets of 16GW of nuclear by 2030, 50GW of offshore by 2030, and 50GW of solar by 2030, the Guardian understands.
A Downing Street source said: “All options have to be on the table, given global price increases and the need to be
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