Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared wind turbines "visually awful" and lamented being unable to restrict the growth of the renewable energy sector further.
While boasting a freshly-inked bipartisan deal to slash the nation's renewable energy target would limit industry growth "as much as the Senate would allow", Mr Abbott said it didn't go far enough.
He believes wind farms, the main beneficiary of the target that requires 20 per cent of Australia's energy to come from renewables by 2020, could have potential health impacts.
"I've been up close to these wind farms. Not only are they visually awful, but they make a lot of noise," he told Alan Jones, an outspoken wind energy opponent, on 2GB radio on Thursday.
"What we did recently ... was to reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E, the number of these things that we are going to get in the future."
It's estimated about an extra 1000 wind turbines will be needed to meet the new 2020 target of 33,000 gigawatts per hour - down from the 41,000Gwh legislated by Labor.
"I frankly would have liked to have reduced the number a lot more," Mr Abbott said.
The comments come after Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm compared "Big Wind" to "Big Tobacco", and accused wind farm operators of ignoring the science of health impacts on nearby residents.
Senator Leyonhjelm is one of several crossbenchers who joined forces with the government to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the affects and regulation of wind turbines.
The move came despite a National Health and Medical Research Council finding that there was no consistent evidence of health effects associated with so-called "wind turbine syndrome".
Labor environment spokesman Mark Butler said the prime minister's "stunning" and "gobsmacking" admission he wants to end the clean energy industry showed he was out of touch.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is concerned the comments could deter investment, regardless of the certainty injected by the new target.
"What will the renewable energy investors in wind power now think, knowing Australia is run by a bloke who says he doesn't like windmills?" he told reporters in Sydney.
Australian Greens senator Larissa Waters warned Mr Abbott to "get his hands off" the renewable energy target.
"This government has been on a systematic rampage to destroy the clean energy sector and they are continuing that attack," she told reporters in Canberra.
"(Mr Abbott) has thrown his lot in with old coal because they bankroll his re-election."
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