His comments have disappointed environmentalists who believe that the development of onshore wind energy is a vital part of the UK’s move towards clean zero carbon emissions by the 2050 target. The Green Alliance environmental think tank said it was “absolutely strange” to seemingly exclude one of the UK’s cheapest energy sources from the country’s future energy mix. The prime minister had reportedly leaned on Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng’s effort to relax planning rules to allow more turbines on land, in the face of opposition from ministers, including Jacob Rees-Mogg. However, giving evidence to a parliamentary committee today, he singled out offshore wind farms as a priority for the UK’s future energy supplies. And he underlined the fact that he distinguished himself with developments on land by repeating the word “offshore”. It has been almost a month since Mr Johnson promised an energy security strategy “in the coming days” to help the United Kingdom break free from its dependence on Russian oil and gas and reduce cost pressures. life and strengthen the effort for a clean scratch. It is considered crucial to overcome the overland deadlock in time to allow the document to be made public next week, in view of the purdah ahead of the May local elections. Explaining his plans for the long-delayed strategy, Mr Johnson told the Association of Communities Committee: “In the UK we have failed for a generation to have enough long-term supply and it was one of those colossal mistakes. “Renewable energy sources are fantastic and the offshore wind – and I stress that the offshore wind – I think has huge potential. But so are the nuclear ones. “ Green Alliance senior political adviser Joe Tetlow said the government should show “leadership” in the face of the wind instead of blocking it, fearing a “not in my backyard” response from communities near the sites of the proposed facilities. “It’s 2022, not 2012,” Tetlow told The Independent. “People support the land wind. “They recognize that we need it for energy independence, for national security and for reducing bills. “Of course we need community support, but we also need political leadership.” And Danny Gross, an energy activist at Friends of the Earth, said Johnson “could not afford” to ignore the wind on land if he was serious about dealing with the energy crisis. “On average, it takes six years to develop an onshore wind farm, compared to 28 years for new oil and gas fields,” Gross said. “Johnson’s energy review must focus on unleashing the nation’s huge potential for renewable energy, and that must include ending the unfair design rules that block offshore wind energy.” Mr Johnson said he wanted to accelerate a new generation of nuclear power in the UK, telling lawmakers that the new small nuclear reactors (SMRs) being developed by Rolls Royce could be operational by the end of the 2020s. However, he said fossil fuels would remain part of the country’s energy mix, both as part of the transition to renewable energy and as a component of hydrogen power generation. He insisted that the ambition to put the UK on the road to zero “has not been tampered with or lost at all”. However, despite the UK’s promises of carbon emissions at last year ‘s Cop26 summit, he said it would be “very useful” to continue exploring for oil and gas in the North Sea. Johnson told lawmakers he could not claim that new nuclear reactors would generate electricity “for the next two years”. But he added: “We need to look at large nuclear solutions – Sizewell and other projects – but we will also look at small modular reactors. “Qatar is just one of the countries that want to work with us on SMR. “There is a huge list of potential partners for Rolls Royce … If we do not start now, we will not fix the problem.” Mr Johnson’s remarks came after 14 green groups called on the government earlier this week to “unblock” the wind on land in England. Green groups have repeatedly pointed out that wind is popular, clean and cheap. A YouGov poll last year found that 70 per cent of respondents supported the installation of more onshore wind turbines in the UK. A recent report from the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that 80 percent of people supported wind on land. In 2020, the government estimated that onshore wind would cost about £ 46 per megawatt hour by 2025, compared to £ 85 for gas. Estimates show it will be the second cheapest source of energy after high solar energy in 2025, according to a Carbon Brief analysis.
