Onshore renewables and nuclear power seem to be the government’s remedies to wean the UK off energy from places such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Boris Johnson told a group of nuclear yesterday that the government wants to get the amount of electricity generated by the sector up to 25% from 16% currently in what was a major shift in government thinking on energy supply.
In an interview today, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng indicated another major change was on the way with a relaxation of planning rules governing onshore wind farms also on the agenda.
Getting planning permission for a new onshore wind farm has been problematic since 2015 when then-PM David Cameron introduced tougher rules to get new sites built.
In an interview with the I newspaper, Kwarteng said onshore renewables were "absolutely" part of the new strategy and the government had to “look at planning”.
The rule under the Cameron regime saw subsidies for green projects cut and local government given more powers to block wind turbine projects if they were unsightly.
Kwarteng said that new rules would make building new wind farms easier.
“We are not saying we are going to scrap all planning rules and all of these things have got to be in line with community support.
“The argument about onshore wind in 2015 was a historic argument even before we committed to net-zero and the circumstances today with Putin.
“Russia, Saudi Arabia, all of those things mean that we’ve got to have more energy independence and I think onshore renewables are absolutely part of that.”
Onshore wind turbines generate about 10% of the UK's electricity with most based in Scotland, but like nuclear power, more investment will be needed if the government is to meet its zero-2050 carbon emission target.
Huge sums have poured into offshore development in the past couple of years, with oil giants such as Shell getting involved as part of their greening policies, but onshore has been hamstrung by the planning restrictions
Government advisers suggest that the UK will likely need double the 14Gw currently produced by the onshore sector to meet its emission targets.
Shares in Greencoat Wind, the largest UK onshore wind farm investor, eased by 0.5% to 150.4p, having hit an all-time earlier this month.