Clegg ‘blocks onshore wind farm curbs’

A senior Liberal Democrat source said the pair clashed over the proposal to impose a cap on future generation.

The Prime Minister’s environmental credentials were now “dead in the water”, they declared.

According to the junior coalition party, the move was being pushed hard by Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne.

It would have allowed existing projects – including those not yet started – to go ahead but blocked any more from being agreed.

Mr Clegg argued that the proposals did not allow for the replacement of the 30 per cent of projects with approval that tend to be abandoned without being built.

And he said it would also further damage fragile investor confidence in the renewables market.

Rural wind farms have been a source of coalition tension, with many senior Conservatives staunchly opposed to the turbines, which Lib Dems say are needed to meet environmental objectives.