Boris Johnson tonight ducked a showdown with rebel Tories over cheap onshore wind ahead of tomorrow's Energy Security Strategy.
The Prime Minister will push for a huge expansion of offshore wind - claiming that by 2030 turbines at sea will create enough energy to power every home in the UK.
But despite mounting calls for a big increase in onshore wind power, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy signalled only “a limited number” of onshore wind farms would go ahead - and even then local communities would be persuaded with the promise of cheaper bills.
Tory backbenchers are fiercely opposed to more wind farms in the countryside, fearing a rebellion from Conservative -supporting voters.
An effective ban has been in place since 2015.
BEIS said tonight: “We will be consulting on developing partnerships with a limited number of supportive communities who wish to host new onshore wind infrastructure in return for guaranteed lower energy bills.”
The Prime Minister has been under growing pressure to act after the energy price cap rocketed by 54% this month - costing families an extra £693.
Gas price volatility on global markets triggered the bombshell hike - and bills could hit £3,000 in October, thanks to the war in Ukraine, when the cap is reviewed again.
Tomorrow's blueprint will outline plans to generate a quarter of the UK’s electricity from nuclear power plants - but it will take up to 28 years.
The PM claimed tonight: “We’re setting out bold plans to scale up and accelerate affordable, clean and secure energy made in Britain, for Britain – from new nuclear to offshore wind – in the decade ahead.
“This will reduce our dependence on power sources exposed to volatile international prices we cannot control, so we can enjoy greater energy self-sufficiency with cheaper bills.”
Decades of under-investment in nuclear power have hampered attempts to wean the UK off imported fuel.
The existing fleet of nuke stations is gradually being retired, with only one new plant - Hinkley Point C - being built.
Tomorrow's strategy will pledge a “significant acceleration of nuclear, with an ambition of up to 24GW by 2050 to come from this safe, clean, and reliable source of power”, said BEIS.
But experts will demand specific plans amid suggestions up to seven new stations could be needed, alongside small “modular” reactors which are still being developed.
The government claimed it "could mean delivering up to eight reactors, equivalent to one reactor a year instead of one a decade."
The document is also set to push for more drilling in the North Sea as well as leaving the door open to fracking for shale gas.
A fresh review of whether hydraulic fracturing can be done safely has been ordered.
Ed Matthew, of climate change think-tank E3G, said: “With no new support to save energy and by holding back on solar power and onshore wind, this strategy will do nothing to help the UK get off Russian gas this year.
“Instead, the Government has prioritised policies that will keep us dependent on high-cost fossil fuels and nuclear power.
“This isn’t an energy security strategy and will do nothing to bring down energy bills.
“It is a national security threat and the person who will be happiest with it is Vladimir Putin.”
