The leader of a Suffolk council has described calls for an offshore energy grid as "an absolute fantasy" as he dismissed pleas for a reset of the approach towards wind power.
Councillor Steve Gallant, leader of East Suffolk Council, said councillor Tom Daly's motion for seabed cables to be used to carry electricity from offshore wind farms to London rather than over the Suffolk countryside was "ignorant of the facts".
Campaigners have been fighting the plans to use onshore power lines and pylons to bring power from the East Anglia ONE and TWO wind farms because of the impact on the rural environment.
In particular, concerns have been raised about a new 30-acre substation at Friston proposed by ScottishPower Renewables and plans to route pylons along 180 miles of the Essex and Suffolk border.
But Mr Gallant said evidence from power firm National Grid showed that seabed cables were not "technically possible" and would cost billions of pounds more to operate than overhead lines, while electricity capacity was more limited than onshore cables.
He warned the idea of an "offshore energy island" would also cost billions, which residents would have to foot.
He told a full council meeting on Wednesday (January 25): "The motion is ignorant of the facts and pure political posturing. This motion shows the failure of the opposition to understand the energy sector and the needs of our residents."
As part of the motion, Mr Daly said: "It would be more efficient for our communities, the environment, producers and consumers if a national offshore grid was established to connect everything to an area of high demand like London, rather than Suffolk which is a net producer."
The motion proposes a resolution that the council write to business secretary Grant Shapps and energy and climate minister Graham Stuart calling for a review of offshore options.
A "change of approach that protects the rural integrity of our villages and countryside now and into the future" is also called for.
A decision on whether to proceed with the motion's recommendations will be made by the council's cabinet.
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