The Government wants to build an unprecedented 33 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2020 to help to meet Britain's carbon reduction targets, but sceptics question whether the 15,000 turbines will ever be built.

Thirty-three gigawatts represents one third of UK power generation and on some days it would be enough to power every home in the country. However, a lack of financial incentives, a trebling of costs since 2003 and now the falling price of oil are undermining confidence in the industry.

Several investors are shunning Britain in favour of the bigger subsidies and the more established investment climate available for onshore windfarms in Spain, Germany and the United States.

Developers also complain about the convoluted UK planning system and the difficulty of getting connections to the National Grid.

Such problems have encouraged the Government to push increasingly for offshore windfarms, but these are more expensive and remain a relatively unproven technology.

The projected cost of one project, the London Array, has soared from £1 billion in 2003 to £3 billion. Many developers are also struggling because they have been locked out of the debt markets by the credit crunch.

The collapse in oil prices is also hampering the industry by making it less economically attractive than polluting fossil fuels.

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